McKinley Park

NYC PARKS CELEBRATES NEW RECREATION SPACE AT McKINLEY PARK

NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher yesterday joined City Council Member Vincent Gentile, students from nearby schools and community members of all ages to cut the ribbon on the new and improved ballfield at McKinley Park in Bay Ridge. The project was funded with $2.5 million by Council Member Gentile and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams.

“McKinley Park’s new ballfield stands to benefit so many young people in the Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights communities,” said Commissioner Maher. “We worked closely with the community to transform the formerly underused asphalt into a welcoming, high quality recreation space where families can gather and kids can play. We are grateful for the generous contribution from Borough President Adams and Council Member Gentile that made this transformation possible.”

“For more than a century, McKinley Park has been an important open space for children and families in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights,” said Borough President Adams. “I am proud that Brooklyn Borough Hall is part of modernizing this park for the next generation of Brooklynites to enjoy first-class recreation and relaxation.”

“I am overjoyed to cut the ribbon on the charmingly designed new youth softball field, centrally located at McKinley Park, in the very heart of my district,” said Council Member Gentile. “The field and playing area contains amenities including artificial turf, drinking fountains, misting stations, new bleachers and bench seating, and beautifully crafted landscaping on the perimeter. The exciting new field also provides storage for all of the equipment used by the players, an absolute necessity come game time. All of these new amenities will be enjoyed by each and every one of the families that I represent. Particularly, I am proud to announce that this field will serve as the new home of the Little Leaguers of St. Anselm’s Youth Softball Program. I could not be prouder of this new field, as I was able to bring everyone to the table to ensure its completion.”

The new synthetic turf field replaces an old, cracked, and underused asphalt field. The new field will be used for little league softball and multi-purpose play, and stretches a full 200 feet from home plate to the new entrance and gate at Seventh Avenue.

New benches and bleacher seating allow fans to cheer on teams, while player benches and a new storage container provide seating and a place to keep equipment for games. New accessible drinking fountains keep players hydrated and misting stations keep the turf cool during hot summer days. New shade trees, border landscaping, and rain gardens help absorb storm water and make the space more inviting and verdant.

This park is named for William McKinley (1843-1901), twenty-fifth President of the United States. Located on two blocks bounded by 73rd Street, Seventh Avenue, 78th Street, and Fort Hamilton Parkway, the site's woodlands and meadow made it popular with picnickers in the early 1900s. By the 1910s a parkhouse had been erected, a skating pond was created, and tennis courts were built in McKinley Park. The western portion of the park was named in 1979 in memory of Father Richard A. Kennedy and Monsignor Edward J. Sweeney, both pastors of St. Ephrem's Church in Bay Ridge.