[PIX11] New York City parks in each borough will be renamed to honor Black Americans.
The announcement was made Friday by Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver in honor of Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
The holiday took on added meaning this year amid ongoing protests calling for racial equality, and in that spirit, Silver said it is time to recognize and correct the inequities laid to bare in the course of creating the city parks system.
To kick off the initiative as well as honor the homegoing of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans who have have been killed, the Parks Department announced the creation of Juneteenth Grove at Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn.
The agency planted 19 new flowering trees flanking the park’s main entry path on Tillary Street and installed new banners marking the area as Juneenth Grove.
Nineteen benches along the path have been repainted in the red, black and green colors of the globally recognized Pan-African Flag.
"In my six years as commissioner I have been committed to creating safe, inclusive spaces for staff and parkgoers, alike," Silver said in a statement Friday. "NYC Parks believes Black lives matter — our review of park names and the planting of our Juneteenth Grove is only the beginning of our renewed efforts to address inequities in our system for the city and for our employees. We are doing this, if for no other reason than, our Black lives matter."
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