# Herbert Von King Park

Herbert Von King Park is an urban park in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. It was one the first parks established in Brooklyn, from land originally acquired in 1857. The park was originally named Tompkins Park, after former New York governor Daniel D. Tompkins, and was renamed in 1985 in honor of Herbert Von King, a longtime local community organizer who was nicknamed the "mayor of Bedford–Stuyvesant". The park is bounded on the north by Lafayette Avenue, to the east by Tompkins Avenue, to the south by Greene Avenue, and to the west by Marcy Avenue.
The park contains a ballfield, a playground, and the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center, the latter of which opened in 1973. The facility also has the Almira Kennedy Coursey Amphitheatre, named after a longtime advocate for the facility's construction.

## Description

Herbert Von King Park is located in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City; it is bounded to the north by Lafayette Avenue, to the east by Tompkins Avenue, to the south by Greene Avenue, and to the west by Marcy Avenue. Its total size is 7.819 acres (0.03164 km$^2$).
The park contains a baseball field, playground, and barbecue areas, in addition to the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center, which holds classes and events.

## History

The Lenape indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands were the first inhabitants in what is now the New York City metropolitan area. In 1694, Jeremias Remsen purchased a farm in the Wallabout section of Kings County, which later represented the borders of Brooklyn. In 1777, a childless descendant of Remsen's, Jeremiah Remsen, died and left his estate to Barent Johnson, a Kings County land owner married to Anna Remsen. Johnson and Remsen's son Jeremiah Johnson was born in 1777, served as mayor of Brooklyn from 1837 to 1838, and died in 1852. Jeremiah's grandson, Tunis Johnson, was one of the largest landowners in King's County by the time of his death in 1912. In 1857, part of Tunis's family estate was condemned and acquired by Brooklyn later to become one of the first parks of the city.
In June 1857, the Common Council of the City of Brooklyn voted to establish Tompkins Park, making it the first park established by the city of Brooklyn. Funding was achieved six months later, as the incorporation papers were misplaced and had to be relocated. In 1870, the Parks Commission took control of the park, and in 1871, James Stranahan commissioned Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted – architects for Central and Prospect parks – to submit a plan for the park. The land was originally named Tompkins Park, after former New York governor Daniel D. Tompkins. The original design was highly symmetrical and did not include any trees or paths, believing they would be used "for clandestine purposes by people of bad character." In the 1870s and 1880s, the park was used for military review as well as public leisure; in 1875, the Tompkins Park Croquet Club was formed. In 1878, a shelter and veranda meant for women and children was constructed. In 1899, the Tompkins Park Library, located in the center of the park, opened under Public Library Association, and in 1901, it became a part of the Brooklyn Public Library system. Artist William Merritt Chase, a resident of Bedford-Stuyvesant, was a frequent visitor of the park and painted it at least five times in the 1880s, creating some of the earliest color representations of the neighborhood. The park also underwent improvements in the 1910s, with a concert space being constructed in 1915. In 1916, the library and women's shelter were also renovated and combined.
A playground was added in 1927, and at some point, the pathways were redesigned and trees replanted, with little trace of the original layout. In 1963, the Tompkins Park Recreation and Cultural Association was formed as an extension of the Central Brooklyn Coordinating Council, led by Almira Kennedy Coursey, with the goal of improving the park and the neighborhood by extension. Coursey described the park as a "catch‐all for junkies and drunks". The library burned down in 1969, and was shut down on March 14 of that year. After years of lobbying from the Tompkins Park Association, a new recreation center was constructed in the former place of the library, opening on March 13, 1973. Built at a cost of $1.5 million, the facility contained an outdoor sunken amphitheater, a lounge, an information center, and an indoor auditorium named after local musician Eubie Blake. The auditorium features a mural by Akwesi M. Asante depicting African American leaders including David Dinkins and Frederick Douglass. The opening ceremony was attended by mayor John Lindsay and representative Shirley Chisholm.
In 1985, the park was renamed Herbert Von King Park, after a local community activist who was nicknamed the "mayor of Bedford–Stuyvesant." Von King was a building contractor who became involved in political and economic redevelopment programs for the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, serving on the local PTA, the Police Civilian Committee, the Magnolia Tree Earth Center, and the New York chapter of the John Brown Memorial Association. Von King also founded and led Boy Scout Troop 219 in Bed-Stuy, and received the Silver Beaver Award, the Boy Scouts' highest honor for leaders, in 1945, as well as awards from the New York State Senate, the City Council, and the 81st Precinct. In 2011, the outdoor amphitheater was named after Almira Kennedy Coursey, who died in 1996.
In 2022, the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center reopened after a $7 million renovation, with repairs and accessibility features added to the Eubie Blake Theater. The renovation also included a media lab and increased cultural programming.

## Transportation

The Bedford-Nostrand Avenues station is located roughly 1 block, or 0.2 miles, from Herbert Von King. It is also served by the MTA's B38 and B43 bus lines.

## Activities

In addition to the Herbert Von King Cultural Arts Center, the park includes basketball courts on its southeast corner, as well as a dog run and a baseball diamond on the northwest corner.
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, Food Not Bombs operated a foodshare program located in Herbert Von King Park.