Owl's Head Park

What was here before?

Henry C. Murphy (1810-1882) Mayor of Brooklyn and U.S. Representative built his estate along the glacial ridge where the park is today. The Murphy estate was purchased in 1866 by Eliphalet W. Bliss (1836-1903), a wealthy manufacturer who made his fortune introducing and implementing techniques of mass production to the pressed metal industry. In his will, Bliss offered his property to New York City with the stipulation that it would be used solely for parkland. In 1928 the land was designated a park upon acquisition of the remaining corners of the site. Although quite impressive at the time, Owl’s Head Park fell into neglect, and the mansion, stables, and tower were demolished by 1940.

How did this site become an amenity?

State Senator Martin J. Golden initiated the efforts to have a section of Owl’s Head Park named in Lake’s honor. In the interim, the New York City Council named the southwest corner of the intersection of 71st Street and 3rd Avenue “Billy Lake Place.” On September 17, 2004, NYC Parks honored Firefighter Lake by naming these basketball courts for Billy Lake.

Who is this site named for?

These basketball courts honor the memory of William D. Lake (1956-2001), a firefighter and Bay Ridge resident who died in the line of duty in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Lake’s interest in firefighting started at an early age when he would visit the nearby firehouse where his uncle worked. Lake attended Powell Memorial Academy in Manhattan. His career with the New York City Fire Department began in September 1981 at Engine 219 for six years and then Rescue 2, both in Brooklyn.

Following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City, Firefighter Lake volunteered to help in the recovery effort, and received a presidential commendation for his endeavors.

During his years as a firefighter, Lake suffered severe injuries on the job including hearing loss from underwater rescues and chemical burns. He also rescued animals. One winter he performed “mouth-to-snout” respiration on a dog he pulled from Prospect Park Lake, and in June 2000, he led the effort to save a horse from a burning stable in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn.

A day after a Rescue 2 dinner celebrating his 20th anniversary with FDNY, he and six other men from his firehouse perished in the destruction of the Twin Towers.