McKinley Park

Kathy Reilly Triangle

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

This garden, located on the southwestern tip of McKinley Park, is dedicated to Kathy F. Reilly (1946-2000), as much a friend as she was a devoted public servant to the City of New York. Born in Westerleigh, Staten Island, Reilly attended P.S. 30 and Port Richmond High School. Soon after graduating she moved to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the community where she lived the rest of her life.

Kathy Reilly's career as an executive assistant for the City of New York began in l984. Her professionalism and dedication to her responsibilities enabled her to serve three administrations over a sixteen-year career in public service. She worked for Stanley Brezenoff in the Edward I. Koch Administration and Robert Esnard during the David N. Dinkins Administration. In 1994 she began working for the Giuliani Administration, under First Deputy Mayor Peter J. Powers.

Kathy Reilly was the first person you encountered when entering the executive area on the first floor of City Hall. Her outgoing personality and her willingness to help made her a valuable asset to the people she served. Kathy also worked at the Department of Housing, Preservation & Development and the Department of Information, Technology & Telecommunications. She returned to City Hall to assist Joseph J. Lhota, the current Deputy Mayor for Operations, as his Executive Assistant.

Reilly also committed much of her time to volunteering for Our Lady of Angels Theatre Group, the Fort Hamilton Army Base, Angel Guardian, and Bravo Ambulance. This garden was named for Reilly by a local law sponsored by Council Member Martin J. Golden in 2000. In 2001, Mayor Giuliani contributed $160,000 for the construction of new pavement, granite block curbs, steel and wicket fences, world’s fair benches and the addition of new plants including Blue Girl Holly (Ilex meservae), Big Blue Lirope (lirope muscari), and Deciduous Azalea (Exbury Azalea). The garden is also a Greenstreets site. Greenstreets is a joint project of Parks and Transportation begun in 1986 and revived in 1994. Its goal is to convert paved street properties, such as triangles and malls, into green spaces which are maintained with the assistance of local communities.