Ciccarone Park

E 188 St bet. Arthur Av and Hughes Av

Bronx

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

Vincent Ciccarone Playground is one of nine New York City Parks & Recreation playgrounds opened on July 15, 1934. They were built using a $250,000 War Memorial Fund that had been established in 1921 by the New York City Police Department. By 1934 the fund--never spent--had grown in value to $350,000. Commissioner Robert Moses, seeking additional open spaces for children, obtained a legal ruling permitting use of the fund for playground development. The ruling mandated that each property honor the memory of a soldier who gave his life in combat by name, and that it be accompanied by a commemorative tablet.