Jackie Robinson Park

Jackie Robinson Park in Brooklyn is a one-acre neighborhood park at Jamaica Avenue and Cleveland Street in East New York, one of several parks across the five boroughs named for the baseball pioneer who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 when he took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field.

Robinson's connection to Brooklyn is profound: it was in the borough's own ballpark that he endured the hostility, death threats, and racial abuse that accompanied his integration of baseball, and it was Brooklyn's fans who gradually embraced him as one of their own. The Dodgers' move to Los Angeles in 1957 ended an era, but Robinson's Brooklyn legacy endures.

East New York, where this park is located, is one of the city's most economically challenged neighborhoods. Public parks here serve an especially critical function, providing free outdoor recreation in a community where many families have limited access to private amenities.

The park features a playground and open recreation areas serving families in the surrounding blocks. Its modest size limits its capacity, but it provides a named, maintained green space in a part of Brooklyn that has historically received less parks investment than wealthier neighborhoods.

Jackie Robinson Park in East New York carries the name of a man who understood that equality is not given but won through courage, dignity, and persistence. In a neighborhood that continues to fight for its fair share of city resources, Robinson's example resonates daily.