Facing the imminent demolition of a house long associated with the Underground Railroad, Brooklyn residents are floating a plan to rename a long-delayed downtown park to commemorate the neighborhood's abolitionist history. Under the proposal, Willoughby Square Park, a roughly one-acre green space set to be built next summer between Duffield Street and Albee Square West, would be renamed Abolitionist Place Park.
Jacob Morris, the head of the Harlem Historical Society who has spearheaded the renaming of numerous city roads, on Wednesday asked the Community Board 2's youth, education, and cultural affairs committee to consider co-naming the square Abolitionist Place Park. But board members decided to recommend a full renaming to the city's Economic Development Corporation, which took charge of the project after the developer failed to secure financing.
“Why not simply call it [Abolitionist Place Park]? Particularly since there’s so much abolitionist history on that particular block,” Eric Spruiell, a cultural affairs committee member, said at the meeting, Curbed reported. “And there’s a house down the street where there’s a whole lot of controversy going on about it right now.”
Spruiell was referring to the fate of 227 Duffield Street. The house, which was once owned by abolitionists, has long been believed to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. It became the center of a preservation fight this summer after the owner of the property submitted a demolition request. Last month, Samiel Hanasab, who plans to build a 21-unit residential building at the site, told Gothamist he had agreed to create an African American museum in the basement as part of an agreement with the previous owner.
The issue has raised questions about the city's commitment to preserving black abolitionist history, which was echoed last month after some argued that the city's proposed $700,000 abolitionist memorial at the planned park fell short of what had been promised when the project was proposed in 2007.
"It doesn’t feel like a memorial. It feels like squeezing something in as an afterthought," said Todd Fine, the president of the Washington Street Advocacy Group, who attended the meeting.
As a result of the concerns, earlier this month, the community board voted to delay its approval of the park's design.
Michael Higgins, an organizer at Families United for Racial and Economic Equality who has been leading the effort to preserve 227 Duffield, said that renaming the park should not come in lieu of saving what has long been considered a prominent part of downtown Brooklyn's history.
He and other supporters are planning to stage a rally on Friday at 4 p.m.at 1 Centre Street, where the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission is based. The group plans to ask the commission why it has not yet responded.
"We just hope that they would be supportive of preserving 227 Duffield so that it can be experienced in its own form rather than through the park," he said.
UPDATE: An earlier version of the story said Todd Fine was the president of the Washington Street Historical Society, but he is no longer with that organization.
