Raymond O’Connor Park

What was here before?
The Matinecock inhabited this land prior to the arrival of the Dutch in the 1600s. Originally part of the Town of Flushing, the first record of the town name Bayside appeared on a deed in the late 1790s. The town largely remained rural farmland through the 19th century, including this parcel which remained countryside through the 1920s. 

How did this site become a park?
The City acquired this site through condemnation in 1931 as part of a purchase to create a public playground and thoroughfare. It was named after Raymond O’Connor the following year. In 1933 and 1934 the western parcels of the property, now bounded by 208th Street, Corporal Kennedy Street, and 32nd and 33rd Avenues, were transferred to the Board of Education for the construction of Bayside High School. The remainder of the land was landscaped with lawns, shade trees, and sidewalks. The playground opened along with six other new playgrounds on November 22, 1935. Present at the dedication were Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, Commissioner Moses, the head of the Federal Works Progress Administration Harry L. Hopkins, and Queens Borough President George U. Harvey.

In 1997, the wading pool was replaced with a modular play structure and a water spray area with two cast-concrete seals was added. The park’s defining feature is a central oval surrounded by mature trees, which now accommodates a turf athletic field.

Who is this park named for?
Raymond O’Connor (1892-1931) was born in Saratoga, New York on February 9, 1892. The son of Brooklyn State Senator Eugene F. O’Connor, he began his career as an office boy for the weekly Queens County News. He served in succession as a reporter, secretary of the Queens County News Company, and then, when the paper became a daily, vice-president for publishing. After serving in the military in World War I, O’Connor ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for Alderman from Flushing and Jamaica, where he lived. In 1929 he was appointed as assistant to Borough President Harvey, who himself has a public park named for him in Whitestone. Following O’Connor’s death at age 39, the Board of Aldermen named this park for him in recognition of his service as a war veteran, newspaperman, and public official.