Sankofa Park (Schenck Park)

1953 - present

In 1953, New York City Park Department built Sankofa Park on Livonia Avenue between Schenck Avenue and Barbey Street, although the park was not called Sankofa until 2016. The park first served as a playground for an elementary school, but after the demolition of the school building in 1953, the site stood alone and formally unnamed. In the 1960s, the park had a softball field, space for teenagers to hang out, and community talent shows in the summer. The park neighbored the New Lots Library, creating collaborative spaces for afterschool and daycare activities. In 1987, the park was renamed Schenck Playground after the prominent Dutch settler family; however, was ultimately renamed Sankofa Park to honor the African Americans who endured centuries of enslavement in the formation of East New York. Community members organized the name change in 2016 after the New York City Park Department conducted archaeological surveys and found fragmentary human remains. A ceremony was held to reinter the human remains, and plans were made for the reconstruction of the playground and construction of an African Burial Ground commemorative area, which is projected to be completed summer of 2023.

Photo of the community celebration of renaming Sankofa Park taken by Lem Peterkin.
Sankofa Park Playground
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Details

Category
Playground
Audience
All Ages, Children
Corporate Body
New York Parks Department
Tags
Dutch, Blackculture, communityvoice, talentshow

Location

  • Sankofa Park, 816 Livonia Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11207, USA
    ? - ?

References

  1. New York City Mayor's Press Office. "1966-03-25 Press Release." March 25, 1966. In New York City Press Releases and Photographs, 1940-1993. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.nyc.gov/html/records/pdf/govpub/42571966_press_releases_part3.pdf.
  2. "Sankofa Park." NYC Parks. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Accessed March 30, 2023. https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/sankofa-park.
  3. “Sankofa Park Reconstruction.” NYC Parks. New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Accessed April 24, 2023. https://www.nycgovparks.org/planning-and-building/capital-project-tracker/project/7277.
  4. Ajamu, Amadi. “Celebration and Re-Internment of Our Ancestors.” New Black View. New York Amsterdam News, August 1, 2019. https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2019/08/01/celebration-and-re-internment-our-ancestors/.
  5. "Brooklyn: A Historical Overview." PBS Thirteen. Accessed April 4, 2023. https://www.thirteen.org/brooklyn/history/history2.html#:~:text=Brooklyn%2C%20situated%20at%20the%20southern,and%20fished%20in%20the%20rivers.