FORT GREENE – The U.S. House if Representatives approved $300,000 in funding to renovate and restore Fort Greene Park. The funds were included in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010, which now goes to the Senate.

“Fort Greene is one of the great historical landmarks in the country but, unfortunately, many areas in the park have fallen into disrepair,� said Rep. Ed Towns, whose district stretches from Fort Greene to Canarsie. “These additional funds will help restore the park’s natural beauty and directly improve the Fort Greene neighborhood.�

Towns secured $300,000 to help renovate the park’s sidewalks, restore signage and improve the landscaping around the Revolutionary War Prison Ship Martyrs Monument. The monument, located in the center of Fort Greene Park, is a memorial to the captured American soldiers who died of disease and starvation aboard rotting British prison ships in New York Harbor. Unveiled in 1908, it is actually the third monument to the martyrs.

The Fort Greene Park Conservancy has worked with the New York City Parks Department in recent years to restore the park, and is in the midst of a full restoration.

“The Conservancy is grateful to Rep. Towns’ effort on behalf of Fort Greene, and looks forward to working with him to make the best possible use of the funds to serve the citizens of Fort Greene and surrounding neighborhoods of Fort Greene Park,� said Fort Greene Park Conservancy Chairman Charles Jarden.

Fort Greene Park is located on a hill overlooking Wallabout Bay and downtown Brooklyn. It was named for Revolutionary War Gen. Nathaniel Greene. While editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, Walt Whitman pushed for the creation of the park, which opened in 1847.

Last year, at the 100th anniversary of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, the four bronze eagles that once graced the monument (removed in the 1960s because of the threat of vandalism) were returned by the Parks Department; and the “eternal flame� on top of the monument’s Doric column, which had been dark for more than 80 years, was re-lit.

Earlier, in 2006, the Parks Department cut the ribbon on the park’s restored Visitors’ Center, which likewise had been closed for several decades.

A tribute to the prison ship martyrs is held in the park every year by the Society of Old Brooklynites. This year, on Saturday, Aug. 22, the keynote speaker will be Eagle history columnist David Weiss.

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