John J. Carty Park

John J. Carty Park. (illegible) acres. This park honors John J. Carty (1909-1970), a native of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn who lived his life only five blocks away and dedicated himself to New York City government for 32 years. , Born in Bay Ridge, Carty graduated from St. Francis College in Downtown Brooklyn. After college, Carty taught English and Government at Bishop Laughlin Memorial High School where he also coached the baseball and swimming teams. In 1938, Carty left his position as a teacher to join city government with the Municipal Civil Service Commission. After his 1952 appointment to the Bureau of Budget, he spent the next ten years developing his budgetary knowledge and learning the various technicalities of city budgetary allocation. , In 1962, Carty was appointed First Deputy Comptroller under City Comptroller Abraham D. Beame (1906-2001), who later became mayor. Carty frequently represented Beame at meetings of various groups including, the City Banking Commission, the Mayor’s Committee on Pensions, American Museum of Natural History, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences, the Brooklyn and New York Public Library, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and various Police and Fire Department budgetary departments. , One year after his appointment to First Deputy Comptroller, Carty received a bronze medal from the Citizens Budget Commission for career service. Serving under Comptrollers Beame and, later, Mario A. Proccacino, Carty proved to be invaluable, providing insightful and pertinent recommendations. Carty was involved in numerous budgetary issues throughout his eight years in office. In 1965, he worked with the Fire Department to attempt to eradicate a large deficit in the Fireman’s Pension Fund. In 1966, Mayor John V. Lindsay (1921-2000) appointed Carty to a 21-man commission established to work with private companies to secure additional industry for the city and specifically for the Brooklyn Navy Yard. , The year 1967 proved very busy for Carty. In January, he defended the City’s spending of federal money from a poverty fund amidst allegations by the federal government that the money was being wastefully spent. In April, Carty was placed in charge of preparing the main report on the financing woes of the 1964 World’s Fair. He was also involved in the August scheduling of hearings authorized by New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968) regarding Mayor Lindsay’s alleged mismanagement of poverty and welfare programs. , In August of 1967, The New York Times published John J. Carty’s letter to the editor defending the Comptroller’s Office against allegations by The Times that his office had inefficiently managed funding for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Based on his evidence, it became evident that the Comptroller had no control over the funding for that project. When John J. Carty died of a heart attack in December 1970, Mayor Beame said, “he would probably have been selected by his fellow professionals in government as one of the greatest urban experts and public servants in the history of this city.” , John J. Carty Park, located between 94th and 101st Streets and Fort Hamilton Parkway, was named by Local Law in 1971. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority developed both the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (1965) and this park concurrently thanks to a 1956 federal grant. The playground section of the park contains benches, a large comfort station, numerous game tables, two drinking fountains, and a flagpole with a yardarm on a monument base. Play areas consist of red, yellow, green, and white play equipment with safety surfacing, a spray shower, tot and regular swings, basketball and handball courts, and a large asphalt play area. The additional park area, which is surrounded by a variety of trees, has a multitude of benches as well as picnic tables, a bocce court, and ten tennis courts. The area provides recreational activities for all.