Sankofa Park

Lion's Pride Playground now features new plaza with seating, sports amenities with bleachers, and upgraded play equipment

Construction has begun on full redesign of Sankofa Park, commemorating the historic African burial ground and creating a community hub with spaces for reflection and recreation

On Monday, NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher joined City Council Member Charles Barron, former Council Member Inez Barron, and community members to celebrate two capital projects in Council District 42, totaling over $9 million. Lion’s Pride Playground in Brownsville has been upgraded with new play equipment, landscaping and open plaza space, and fitness amenities. At Sankofa Park in East New York, construction has now begun on an upgraded playground and memorial for commemorating the historic African burial ground located beneath a portion of the park.

“Lion’s Pride Playground has been transformed into an amazing, state-of-the-art playground, and Sankofa Park will be a thoughtful space that honors the African Burial Ground and respects the dignity of those interred there,” said NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher. “The improvements to both spaces were made possible by the advocacy of Charles and Inez Barron and will serve the East New York community for generations to come.”

"Sankofa Park along with the new library coming to our community represents a cultural hub that will highlight the major essential contribution our African Ancestors in building East New York! The Lion's Pride Park is truly a blessing for our children! East New York is on the rise!" said Council Member Charles Barron.

Following a $4.1M reconstruction project, the popular Lion’s Pride Playground in Brownsville now includes new amenities for local families to enjoy, including upgraded play equipment with ADA-accessible play features, swings for multiple age groups, and a new spray shower. The physical layout of the park has also been improved for Brooklynites of all ages, with new seating, game tables, planting beds and hydrants, drinking fountains, and a multi-purpose plaza that can host community events and performances, located on a previously vacant area of the playground. Parks has also installed a basketball court with bleachers and adult fitness equipment in the park, and the entrances to the park and landscape layout have been reconfigured to promote effective circulation and access. The project is funded by the Office of the Mayor and Council Member Barron.

In East New York, construction has now begun at Sankofa Park to enhance the neighborhood greenspace and commemorate the park’s historic significance. Parks will install new play equipment and a new basketball court, reconstruct the public restroom building façade, and upgrade the infrastructure throughout the park, including electrical and drainage improvements, paving, seating, and fencing. Additionally, Parks will create a commemorative space to recognize and honor those buried at the historical African burial ground located beneath a portion of the parkland. The $4.89M project is funded by Council Member Barron, the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office, the Office of the Mayor, and New York State.

Please see below for brief histories of the parks; more complete descriptions are available on our website at nyc.gov/parks.

Lion’s Pride Playground:

This site that would become Lion’s Pride Playground was acquired by the City of New York in 1929, and was named RSVP Playground in 1997, an abbreviation for Riverdale, Snediker, and Van Sinderen Playground. The following year, the playground was renamed in honor of the lion, an animal long celebrated as the “King of Beasts” for its awe-inspiring power and beauty. The name of this playground has been embraced and celebrated by the community. A reconstruction in 1999 initiated by the East New York Urban Youth Corps gave the playground a lion theme, which included yellow play equipment evoking a lion’s golden mane and a lion water basin.

Sankofa Park:

In 2016, NYC Parks commissioned a series of archeological surveys at Sankofa Park, at the time named Schenck Park after the politically prominent Schenck family who lived in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries and owned enslaved people. These archeological surveys unearthed fragmentary human remains, which were reinterred by community members at a July 2019 ceremony. At this event, the location was renamed Sankofa Park in honor of the site’s African American history.

Both a word in the Akan Twi language of Ghana and a Bono Adinkra symbol, Sankofa refers to a mythic bird that flies into the future while keeping its beak turned toward the past. Its translation tells us that “it isn’t taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.”