Celebrating 100 Years
1926–2026
Sunnyside Gardens Park has been the heart of this community since the very beginning. When the City Housing Corporation opened the park in 1926, the same year Mayor Jimmy Walker presided over its dedication, it was designed as a shared green space for the working families of one of America's first planned communities. The founders behind Sunnyside Gardens included architect Clarence Stein, urban thinker Lewis Mumford, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who served on the City Housing Corporation's board. They believed that ordinary people deserved beautiful, communal spaces, and this park is their legacy.
One hundred years later, that belief lives on. Sunnyside Gardens Park remains one of only two privately owned parks in New York City (the other being Gramercy Park in Manhattan) and continues to serve the 700 member families of Sunnyside and Woodside who tend it, gather in it, and call it their own.
This centennial belongs to everyone who has ever played, gardened, volunteered, or simply found a quiet bench here. We invite you to be part of the next 100 years.
Do you have a memory or photo to share? We're building a living archive of 100 years of community. Send us your stories and images — we'd love to include them here.
