7. Sheepshead Bay houses the only public Holocaust memorial park in NYC

Holocaust memorial

The Holocaust Memorial Park in Sheepshead Bay is the city’s only public Holocaust memorial park. Located at the intersection of Emmons Avenue and Shore Boulevard, the park was designated by Mayor Koch in 1985. The memorial was dedicated over a decade later in 1997 to honor the area’s large Jewish population, many of whom were immigrants and survivors of the Holocaust.

Holocaust memorial

Landscape architect George Vellonakis designed the memorial as a 14 1/2-foot tower made of granite and exposed steel. At the top is a bronze “Eternal Flame,” as well as the word “Remember.” The base consists of three circular granite pedestals featuring the countries impacted by the Holocaust. Extending outwards is a 21-foot granite slab that outlines the history of the Holocaust. Near the memorial are over 200 granite markers that feature names and places associated with the Holocaust, each with a different form and size to depict the diversity of those who perished. These markers list names of concentration camps, events like Kristallnacht and the Warsaw Uprising, and figures like Anne Frank and Raoul Wallenberg.

The end of the slab reads: “This memorial is dedicated to the eternal memory of the six million Jewish men, women, and children methodically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. To the five million other innocent human beings who were also murdered under German rule during World War II. To the heroes of the ghettos and the Jewish armed resistance. To the partisans and allied soldiers who fought for freedom. To those who survived the horrors and degradation of the Nazis. To the few righteous among the nations who risked their lives to shield those targeted for death. And to all those who wage battle for freedom and human dignity. Humanity must learn, understand, and remember so that it will never happen again. Remember!”