‘The park is named for Captain George H. Tilly, a local son of a prominent family who was killed in action in the Philippines while serving in the Spanish-American War, and a monument to the war is prominent in the park.’ New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
From the park’s Memorial Hill one can see
Manhattan, and the World Trade Center’s
Twin Towers. Below, this Labor Day
early evening, the benches round Goose Pond
are filled with families – Sikh, Jamaican,
Hispanic. Annually this season
the water is the colour of jade –
insecticide to kill mosquitoes.
George Tilly was killed by Filipino
freedom fighters. His family owned the land
the park is built on. They used the acres
for flocks of ducks and geese – when Empire City,
seen from rural Queens, was like somewhere
in the clouds. The air, this gentle evening,
is filled with music and barbecues.
By David Selzer