Borinqueneers Park
The Borinqueneer Park Education Alliance, a non-profit, tax-exempt organization, is launching a three-year capital campaign to raise $5 million for the development of a community park in Perth Amboy, dedicated to the brave Puerto Rican soldiers known as “Borinqueneers.” The only segregated Hispanic unit in US Army history.
The park pays tribute to Puerto Rico’s 65th Infantry Regiment (known as the Borinqueneers), who gained notoriety for their gallant bravery during the Korean Conflict. The 65th became a national icon on the island and among the growing Puerto Rican communities on the mainland. Throughout the conflict 61,000 Puerto Ricans served in the US military, 3,540 became casualties and 747 were killed in action.
The land sits across from the Robert N. Wilentz Elementary School between Patterson Street and the Raritan River waterfront, reclaiming a former scrap metal facility for the public good.
Site design is modeled after the regional landscapes of the New York-New Jersey Harbor, following extensive community engagement over eight months in partnership with Rutgers University.
Planners have organized the park into three zones: a coastal landscape inspired by regional dune ecology, a flexible recreational park, and “play mountain”—an elevated play area including a skate park.
Throughout the park, features pay tribute to the riverfront legacy of Perth Amboy, creating opportunities for diverse programming and amenities. Built largely on top of contaminated fill, the project includes an impressive brownfield remediation process, integrating green infrastructure that will serve as a prototype of future park planning in Perth Amboy.
144 Rector Street, Perth Amboy, New Jersey 08861-4720
E-Mail:
Phone: 201-704-8953
Fax: 732-324-0456
A New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation