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Read the press release here.

Fort Greene's Prison Ship Martyr's Monument Could Become National Treasure

By Alexandra Leon | January 16, 2017 10:43am
 The Prison Ship Martyr's Monument at Fort Greene Park is being considered for national monument status.
The Prison Ship Martyr's Monument at Fort Greene Park is being considered for national monument status.
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Mambo'Dan

BROOKLYN — Fort Greene Park’s Prison Ship Martyr’s Monument is being considered for national monument status. 

The National Park Service (NPS) will be conducting a study to see whether the monument meets the criteria for congressional designation as a part of the national park system, where it could join the ranks of the Statue of Liberty and Castle Clinton

The monument — a 100-foot-wide granite staircase and 149-foot Doric column — was built in 1908 and serves as a memorial to the American soldiers who died on British prison ships anchored in the East River during the Revolutionary War. 

Remains of those 11,500 soldiers are buried in a crypt at the base of the memorial. 

The study will take into account whether the memorial meets the requirements for national park classification, including national significance, suitability and feasibility for inclusion within the National Park System, and the need for NPS management.

The study was first introduced as a bill by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries — who serves the 8th Congressional District of New York — in 2014.

Jeffries told the House Natural Resources Committee in 2014 that the monument has been repeatedly vandalized and neglected in the last century.

He said he hopes a "national treasure" status will help protect the structure from continued abuse.

Once NPS completes the study, it will be submitted to Congress who will determine whether the monument should be designated as a national monument. 

Residents can learn more about the study and submit their comments at a public meeting on Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. in the Shirley Chisholm State Office Building, at 55 Hanson Pl. in Fort Greene.

For more information, visit the NPS Park Planning website.