Mayor declares Staten Island has new landmark: ‘It opened its doors when others turned Black New Yorkers away’ (2024)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A longtime piece of Oakwood and a special place for New York City’s Black community earned landmark status Tuesday.

Mayor Eric Adams announced the new status for Frederick Douglass Memorial Park marking it as an early celebration of Juneteenth, which will take place Wednesday as the date marking the end of U.S. slavery.

“On the day before Juneteenth, New York City remembers our shared history by shining a light on a memorial park that opened its doors when others turned Black New Yorkers away,” Adams said. “Frederick Douglass Memorial Park offered a dignified and dedicated space for the Black community to honor those who transitioned. Today, our administration plays its part by commemorating those who stood up against injustice and by officially designating Frederick Douglass Memorial Park a landmark.”

Rodney Dade, a Harlem funeral director, founded the cemetery in 1933 after seeing the bigotry Black people faced in the five boroughs when burying their loved ones.

Cemeteries around the city often segregated Black dead people to undesirable areas on their grounds, and forced their families through various indignities, said Mary Ann-Hurley, who presented Frederick Douglass Memorial Park’s landmark case to LPC.

Founders named the park for Frederick Douglass, the 19th century abolitionist and statesman born into slavery, and began burying people in 1935. Douglass is buried in Rochester.

As one of the few cemeteries entirely open to Black people, Frederick Douglass Memorial Park accepted a host of prominent figures, including blues singer Mamie Smith, Negro League baseball players Elias “Country Brown” Bryant and King Solomon “Sol” White.

During an April tour of the grounds, Frederick Douglass Memorial Park Board President Brandon Stradford and members Debbie-Ann Paige and Lisa Wallace said the landmark designation would help them better maintain the cemetery.

“We are thrilled that Frederick Douglass Memorial Park has been selected to receive such an honor,” Stradford said Tuesday. “On behalf of the families of the loved ones entrusted in our care, we say ‘thank you.’”

While rich in historic significance, the memorial park still functions as a modern, 14.88-acre cemetery, accommodating burials a few times each week for people of all races and denominations. It has also been used for the Richmond County Public Administrator’s Burial Program, which provides dignified burials to descendants who have no families to handle them.

During that recent tour, signs of care, like flowers and other mementos, could be seen at individual graves around the park, but decades of neglect preceding the current board have left the site in need of work.

In 2008, the Advance/SILive.com reported that Frederick Douglass Memorial Park was in danger of becoming an abandoned cemetery after years of mismanagement.

The state Division of Cemeteries, which regulates nonsectarian cemeteries like Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, first raised alarm bells about management there in 1999.

In 2005, the state courts removed a former director of the cemetery, issued a $667,593 judgment against her, and put the cemetery into a receivership.

That receivership wasn’t without controversy after the third individual to take on the role tore down historic gates at the park entrance, leading to a lawsuit that was eventually dismissed.

The current stewards of Frederick Douglass Memorial Park want to move on from the past few decades, and hope securing a landmark status can help them do so.

At a May hearing, Stradford told the Landmarks Preservation Commission about the importance of the cemetery to the African American community and to its current stewards, in particular. Most members of the board have family members interred there.

“The place is really special to us. It’s not just something of interest, something that we said ‘this has fallen down, oh let’s grab a hold of that,’” he said. “It’s part of my legacy, our legacy.”

Stradford, Paige and Wallace laid out a series of projects they hope to pursue, including park benches for visitors, improved paving around the park and a possible expansion into untapped land that is part of the park.

“If you look at the early picture . . . it really is designed as a park,’' Paige said. “That’s why they called it Memorial Park, because Black people tend to celebrate (the dead). It was a place that folks could come and be with their people. ... To then go back to the original thoughts of putting in the benches so that you can sit and contemplate and actually be a park...I think is a great idea.”

Staten Island’s elected officials supported the push to landmark the cemetery. Here’s what some of them had to say:

“Frederick Douglass Memorial Park is New York City’s only non-sectarian cemetery specifically for our Black community,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (Staten Island/South Brooklyn). “We appreciate the mayor naming this site an individual landmark to recognize and memorialize generations of Black Americans who’ve greatly contributed to our city’s history and culture.”

“This designation of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Park as a landmark is an important achievement for the Staten Island community,” said State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (D-North Shore/South Brooklyn). “This cemetery offered a place where Black New Yorkers could be laid to rest with the honor they deserved. Now, decades later, the ancestors of so many of my constituents remain buried here with dignity. This landmark status is not just about preservation; it’s about celebrating the resilience and contributions of those who came before them. It is truly a milestone to honor the rich history and legacy of Frederick Douglass Memorial Park for the past, present and future generations.”

“The designation of Frederick Douglass Memorial Park as an individual landmark is a long-overdue recognition of Staten Island’s rich Black heritage,” said Assemblyman Charles Fall (D-North Shore/Brooklyn/Manhattan). “This cemetery, which served as a dignified resting place for Black New Yorkers during times of segregation and discrimination, will be preserved for future generations. As we approach Juneteenth, I want to thank Mayor Adams and the Landmarks Preservation Commission for highlighting the importance of preserving and celebrating the legacy of Black Americans on Staten Island and beyond.”

“I am pleased that the Landmarks Preservation Commission has moved to recognize Frederick Douglass Memorial Park as a landmark,” said Assemblyman Michael Reilly (R-South Shore). “This preserves the legacy of one of our nation’s greatest abolitionists and statesmen, ensuring that Staten Islanders will continue to learn about our community’s abolitionist history for generations to come.”

“Many chapters of American history are reflected in a rich array of historically significant sites throughout Staten Island, from Conference House to Historic Richmondtown to Sandy Ground,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella. “Among those is the Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, which Mayor Adams and the Landmarks Preservation Commission are working to preserve. We commend the mayor and commission for their work, as this designation will raise public awareness about the site itself and the legacy of Frederick Douglass.”

“This recognition is long overdue and will solidify Frederick Douglass Memorial Park’s place in our city’s history,” said Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks (D-North Shore). “Landmark status will provide the necessary support and resources to maintain and enhance the park, allowing it to continue serving as a place of reflection, remembrance, and celebration of African American heritage. By achieving landmark status, we ensure that future generations recognize and honor the contributions of African Americans to our city’s rich history.”

“I’m thrilled that the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission has given Frederick Douglass Memorial Park, the only African American cemetery in New York City, its rightful recognition and honor,” said Councilman David Carr (R-Mid-Island) “It has served as a dignified place of final rest for Black New Yorkers who were denied this right by segregated cemeteries in other parts of the city, and as a peaceful park for people of all backgrounds to come reflect on and celebrate life since 1933. It is my hope that this landmark will remind New Yorkers that we are all equal in the eyes of God.”