Zion Triangle

Pitkin Ave., E. New York Ave. bet. Crafton St. and Legon St.

Brooklyn, 11212

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

In 1896, the City of Brooklyn acquired this triangular property, bounded by Legion Street, Pitkin, and East New York Avenue at the junction of Eastern Parkway. The new park, or “gore” (small, triangular parcel) as it was called then, was donated by landowner Peter L. Vandeveer, and known in its early years as Vandeveer Park. The 1896 Brooklyn Parks Annual Report noted a small shelter at the site and noted that the park “will be exceedingly useful as a resting place for bicycle riders who use the Glenmore Avenue route to the good roads of Queens County.” In 1911, the park was renamed Zion Park by the Board of Aldermen. Zion is derived from an Old Testament reference to the City of David.