I originally intended to include this post with this one, but I realized I could make it seem like I blogged more often if I separated them.
The first week I was in New York, I attended a combined ward FHE at the Harlem chapel at 128th and Lenox. I was still learning my way around the subway system and figuring out how long it took to get from place to place, and I ended up arriving at the church several minutes early.
While waiting for someone to arrive and unlock the building, I walked around the block. As I rounded the final corner at 128th and 5th, I was surprised to see a small strip of grass enclosed by an iron fence. Even more surprising--the sign on the fence declared that this tiny patch of greenery was actually a city park. It takes a concerted effort to clear a spot for any sort of flora in Manhattan, and as such each spot of it is usually labelled, whether it be a park, a green street, a community garden, etc. But it struck me as odd that this space, smaller than a football field end zone, would be designated a park.
Over the next year, I continued to find this tiny park strange on the few occasions I walked past it, but when I saw it again last week I realized I needed to learn its history. For starters, I actually paid attention to the name: Collyer Brothers Park. Some quick Googling helped me find out who these brothers were, and their story is actually very bizarre. Check it out for yourself--it's fascinating. Go ahead, I'll wait. Seriously, read it.
Done? Pretty crazy, huh? My roommate is a pretty big history buff, particularly about our neighborhood (Arthur Miller and J.D. Salinger are both, according to Seth, former residents of 111th St., where we live), but even he hadn't heard of the Homer and Langley Collyer. This park adds some quirkiness to the area. I already knew Harlem was the home of the Apollo, great soul food, and Bill Clinton's offices, but now I am aware of our rich heritage of eccentric garbage hoarders, and their booby traps.
Another quick online search revealed why the city designed such a tiny park. Again, some pretty interesting stuff.
It turns out this topic is timely, too. Drew Barrymore is starring in an upcoming movie about "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Beale, probably New York's most famous trash-saving recluses.
If you have any quirky stories about the history of your neighborhood or mine, leave 'em in the comments. I promise to save them and never throw them away.
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5 comments:
Kooky guys. I wonder if enough is known about them to make a movie. It would be interesting.
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Little Manhattan, but if you haven't, you definitely should. I just thought of it because there is a short scene in the movie that takes place in "New York's smallest city park."
Hmm... sounds like a Harlem brownstone that I used to live in. My ex-landlady must be related to the Collyers... hopefully she won't end up with the same fate!
SO interesting! Made for a great read!
I stumbled onto the story of the Collyer brothers about a year ago for some reason. I had no idea they had a park named for them, though.
FYI, we'll be in town in July over my birthday for a few days. At the end of those few days, Rachel and Marlene are heading on to Europe, and I'll be heading home like a sucker. But plan to make at least one visit to Max Brenner with us.
I can't believe I haven't been to Max Brenner since I came back. It's probably been over a year since I was there. That needs to change.
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