Dedicated on June 18, 2019, the YOLANDA GARCÍA PARK is named after the founder and first Executive Director of We Stay / Nos Quedamos, Inc, Yolanda García.
The 1.5 acre park is located at Melrose Avenue between East 159th and East 160th Streets in the Melrose section of the South Bronx. It was dedicated to celebrate the lifework and memory of García’s community-based work as a staunch advocate of low-income andaffordable housing development, an ardent proponent of community green space and an iconic community role model.
The site was once a vacant plot of land used mostly for illegal dumping and rampant drug use. Yolanda always envisioned it repurposed as an open green space for, and at the service, of the community. In fact, the trash-logged and rubble-strewn lot was often depicted as the central hub for the spokes of the historic Melrose Urban Renewal Plan, which she personally spearheaded.
The park’s development and dedication also represents amajor milestone in the investment in the quality-of-lifeand infrastructure in Melrose by municipal government, and is a living example and case-study of community-led environmental resiliency and sustainability in the South Bronx. Read the dedication speech by current NQ CEO, Jessica Clemente (PDF).
Nos Quedamos also organized the Friends of Yolanda García Park and has activated the state-of-the-art oasis with both cultural programming and civic-engagement initiatives since 2020. Visit our Facebook page.
