The New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle

We deeply appreciate the decision by Mayor de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Silver to officially name the park “The New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle.”The Mayor has long been a champion of people living with HIV/AIDS and the name he has conferred on this new City park and future home to the New York City AIDS Memorial is a visible reminder that underscores the critical impact of the AIDS epidemic in New York City’s history and supports expanded efforts to combat its continued persistence today. We also profoundly thank City Councilmember Corey Johnson, Borough President Gale Brewer, and State Senator Brad Hoylman for their critical support in the naming of the park.

In his statement Commissioner Silver said, “The New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle stands at the crossroads of the richly historical West Village. Here, we honor and celebrate St. Vincent’s Hospital’s more than 150 years of service to our city, as well as the countless New Yorkers impacted by AIDS: those we have lost, those who live with H.I.V./AIDS, and those who continue to battle against fear and ignorance.”

“Naming the park the New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle appropriately acknowledges both the ongoing history of AIDS that the memorial commemorates, and St. Vincent’s Hospital, which was an important local institution that played a critical role in the history of the epidemic. Neither should be forgotten.”

Robert Woodworth
Chair
CB2 Quality of Life Committee
West Village resident

“It is heartening to know that the new NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle will create a powerful sense of place at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in New York City. Memorializing the devastation and bravery of the AIDS epidemic, and naming the park in this very appropriate way, will enable all visitors to reflect on this important history and its impact on our city.”

Ken Lustbader
Co-Director
NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
Greenwich Village resident and historic preservationist

“Along with the move to commemorate Stonewall and its nearby park as a national landmark, the NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle is a critical marker of our shared history. It is appropriate that this is in our neighborhood and that the park’s name reflects both the epidemic and the location of the hospital that was so critical during the height of the AIDS epidemic in NYC. But it is also a memorial that addresses all of our society. It is impossible to convey the horror of such an epidemic and the injustice and stigma experienced by those directly affected, but public memorials serve as important reminders of our history, our shared values and the actions and attitudes we put forth as a public body during moments of crisis. This memorial should serve, in future epidemics, both as a reminder of the dangers created, when we allow fear to rule, and of the positive outcomes that result when we unite to fight discrimination and seek solutions to our common ills. Recent events show how relevant and timely this memorial can be.”

Stephan Jaklitsch
Architect
Greenwich Village resident

“I am extremely pleased to hear that this beautiful addition to our neighborhood’s civic space is to be called The NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle. As a longtime resident and member of the architecture and planning community, I believe it’s essential to recognize that this area was the epicenter of the AIDS crisis, and that St. Vincent’s led the healthcare community response for many years. The new name reflects both.”

Gretchen Bank
West Village resident

“The memorial park site resonates across the entire AIDS community. I cannot think of a better location to commemorate the ongoing history of the AIDS crisis and create a public space for those of us still fighting the epidemic to gather for commemoration and reflection.”

Guillermo Chacón
President
Latino Commission on AIDS

“I am thrilled by the announcement of the naming of the New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St Vincent’s Triangle, in the center of the community that provided loving care and support to my friends as they died of AIDS and lead the response out of the shadows of stigma, death and despair – into the light of hope, effective treatment and an eventual return to a more normal life. The memorial park pays tribute to our brothers and sisters who died of this plague.”

Eric Sawyer
founding member of ACT UP
co-founder of Housing Works Inc. and Civil Society Partnership Advisor UNAIDS

“As a community organization birthed through the AIDS crisis in New York City, The Center is heartened to mark the naming of the NYC AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle. The name represents a fitting reflection of the role the community and the staff at St. Vincent’s played in combatting the epidemic; the park itself is a memorial to the loved ones we lost, and a reminder that we must not rest until the end of AIDS.”

Glennda Testone
Executive Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Center
located in the West Village