Sunset Park has its own Rock of Ages
Residents move boulder 25 blocks to mark historic road
That Tony Giordano, he can move mountains! Well, not quite. But he is quite adept at moving a boulder!
Giordano, the founder of Sunset Park Restoration, a group dedicated to preserving the community’s history and character, is responsible for a daring feat – moving a large boulder 25 blocks from one landmark on Fifth Avenue to another so that the big rock could serve as a marker for a forgotten Revolutionary War roadway.
Thanks to the efforts of Giordano and Sunset Park Restoration, the boulder now stands on the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue and 35th Street, outside the gate of Green-Wood Cemetery. It marks the site where Martense Lane, a roadway listed on Revolutionary War-era maps as the only east-west road in the area, once stood. Martense Lane connected the Town of Flatbush with the farmers in the Gowanus area, according to history buff Giordano.
The traveling boulder has become quite the tourist spot in Sunset Park. Kids like to climb on it and adults enjoy having their pictures taken while sitting on it. It’s a prime spot to take a selfie.