Peter Detmold park

Now that summer is in full swing , I'd like to tell you about  some of the lesser-known green gems tucked away the  corners of New York City.  
New York City has more than 1,700 parks, playgrounds, and recreation facilities across the five boroughs.   The oldest park  is Bowling Green Park, the first official park in New York. It was   established and named by a resolution of the Common Council on March 12, 1733.  The largest park  in New York City is Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, and the largest park in Manhattan is the famous Central Park. But there are tons of small parks   in Manhattan that  even newyorkers have never heard of.  

One  of them is Peter Detmold park  in Turtle Bay neighborhood,  at the eastern end of 51st Street.
A   cove of the East River  received its name in the 17th century by its resemblance in shape to that of a knife, "deutal" being Dutch for "knife".  The Turtle Bay was originally a 40-acre (16 ha) land grant given to two Englishmen by the Dutch colonial governor of New Amsterdam in 1639, and named "Turtle Bay Farm".

Park was  named after Peter Detmold, the resident  of the  Turtle Bay Gardens , a rowhouse enclave between 47th and 48th streets and Second and Third Avenues.  Detmold served as president of the Turtle Bay Association and founded the Turtle Bay Gazette. Detmold spoke openly at city planning meetings   and  took some battles to court, if tenants were being harassed or threatened with eviction as large-scale developments tried to move in. In a New York Times article from 1969, Detmold spoke about the pressure he often received from prospective builders, calling it “intense and unrelenting.”
 On the night of January 6, 1972, after returning home from a meeting of the East Side Residential Association, Detmold was murdered. His killer was never found. 

The mysterious circumstances surrounded his death — he was discovered with a stab wound to the chest, but there were no signs of robbery and his wallet was left untouched (...)
The  Peter Detmold    park  is located  at the bottom of a sheer cliff and  is not visible   from the street level.  The park has  a small dog run, benches and tables with embedded checkers and chess sets on top, and an old beautiful footbridge that allows you to cross FDR Drive for great views of Long Island City,   East River and   United Nations.