A good name for a good park

To the editor:

Recently, there was a robust and interesting discussion in the Riverdale Facebook group concerning a small park on the east side of Henry Hudson Parkway between West 231st Street and West 230th Street.

The tract is a Greenstreet property maintained by the city’s parks department. Officially, the park does not have a name.

May I make a modest proposal? Name the piece of property Fort No. 2 Park, or Fort Swartout Park in honor of the patriot fortification that stood there during the American Revolution.

Col. Jacobus Swartout, of the Dutchess County Militia, was the fort’s builder and patriot commander during the New York campaign of 1776.

During the American Revolution, the fort played an essential role in guarding access to the King’s Bridge at Marble Hill, which was one of only two bridges between Manhattan and the mainland. Controlling this bridge greatly impacted the movement of people, goods and news across a wide area. Early in the war, both American and British forces understood the area’s strategic significance and fought bitterly to control it.

In 2019, the Kingsbridge Historical Society made a valiant and noble effort to conduct a full and thorough archaeological survey of the site, but was unable to do so because of the onerous and unreasonable conditions set by the property’s owner. At this point, such a survey will never be conducted. I sincerely believe my suggestion offers a small historical remedy, and it is consistent with naming local parks for Revolutionary War sites, such as Fort Independence Playground on Sedgwick Avenue.

As a member of the Sons of the Revolution — and the direct descendant of a patriot soldier who served for the entirety of the New York campaign — preserving the memory of our local Revolutionary War sites is a deeply meaningful cause.

Joseph Smith

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