Police Officer Edward Byrne Park

POLICE OFFICER EDWARD BYRNE PARK

What was here before?

This area was largely rural into the early 20^th century, populated by farms, including one owned by Jacob Bergen on this site. A portion of Bergen’s farm was condemned for water supply uses by the Nassau Water Company in 1856, and the City purchased additional parcels from several of Jacob Bergen’s descendants between 1895 and 1897. The Bergens retained property north of the park into at least the 1920s. 

Additional lots were added to the site for water supply in 1900 and 1906. The Oconee Pumping Station was once located on the north side of North Conduit Avenue between 131^st and 132^nd Streets. By the early 1950s, the pumping station had ceased functioning, was abandoned and later torn down.

How did this site become a park?

Partial surface rights were assigned to Parks in 1936 from the Department of Water Supply Gas & Electricity. Full rights over the site were assigned to Parks in 1964, but it remained vacant and filled with rubble and debris for over two decades after Parks declined a proposal to convert the site into a parking lot. In 1988, funds were allocated to build the park, to be named in honor of Police Officer Edward Byrne (1966-1988). After the acquisition of two additional lots, construction began in 1993. The park opened on August 3, 1995 with a running track, four tennis courts, two basketball courts, four full-size handball courts, spray shower, play equipment, and a central lawn and sitting area. In 2023, the tennis and basketball courts were reconstructed.

Who is this park named for?

Police Officer Edward Byrne (1966-1988) was a 22-year-old rookie officer who was killed in the line of duty on February 26, 1988.  Byrne joined the police force the previous July, and worked at the 103^rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens.  He died after being shot several times in the head as he sat in his police car while on assignment protecting a drug case witness at 107^th Avenue and Inwood Street in South Jamaica, Queens.  The killing was apparently a plot to intimidate witnesses from testifying against drug dealers.  A year after the murder, four men were convicted and sentenced to sentences of 25 years to life for the crime.  At the ribbon-cutting ceremony for this park in 1995, NYC Parks Commissioner Henry Stern said, “The park stands as a monument to Officer Byrne’s life work and will provide safe recreation for generations to come.”

Byrne’s death motivated the creation of the Tactical Narcotics Team in South Jamaica, which ultimately expanded throughout the city.