Southeast, NY
Southeast Veterans Park is on the corner of Railroad Avenue and Morningthorpe Avenue in downtown Brewster. The property is owned by New York City and leased by the town of Southeast. There is a Veterans Monument, gazebo, and soccer and baseball fields. Each year on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the Brewster VFW hosts a ceremony to mark to day. In years past, the gazebo has been used for music concerts.
The park used to be known as Electrazone Field. Electrazone was the name of a company that had a water purification process. (Well, technically, my research indicated the company was called Electrozone Corporation, not Electrazone.) The company has a plant on the site that used something called the Woolf sytem that utilized a large electrical current. The plant at “Brewster’s” is mentioned in the Volume XXIX July 3 – December 2, 1896 issue of The Electrical Review. The Volume X October 1895 – March 1896 edition of the same periodical explains, “The first plant was installed during the summer of 1893 at Brewster, NY. The plant consisted of a 15 hp engine, a dynamo capable of generating a current 0f 700 amperes at a pressure of 5 volts, a vat of 100 gallons capacity containing the electrodes, with a supply tank designed to hold 3000 gallons. The Electrozone was allowed to flow into the sewer, and was also sprayed into Tonetta Brook, at a rate of 1 part hypoclorite to 100,000 of water.”
The plant was destroyed in a 1911 fire. As of now, I have not determined when it became Electrazone Park.
At a town board meeting on November 15, 2007, the name was changed to Southeast Veterans Park in the following resolution taken from town meeting minutes:
“RESOLUTION # 58 /2007 SOUTHEAST VETERANS PARK. Introduced By: Supervisor Dunford. Seconded By: Councilwoman Mitts. WHEREAS, the Town of Southeast leases certain property from the City of New York currently known as the “Electrazone Field” located on Railroad Avenue and Turk Hill Road; and WHEREAS, the facility consists of a ball field, a gazebo and, most importantly, the Town Veterans’ Monument; and WHEREAS, it is the sense of this Town Board that it would be appropriate to formally name this facility in honor of the many men and women of the Town of Southeast and the Village of Brewster, who have served our Nation as members of the armed services.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the park facility commonly referred to as “Electrazone Field” is hereby officially named “SOUTHEAST VETERANS PARK” in the Town of Southeast and the playing field therein shall be known and designated as “ELECTRAZONE FIELD” at SOUTHEAST VETERANS PARK”. The vote was carried 5 in favor, 0 against and 0 abstaining.”
Brewster Troop 1 Boy Scout Jimmy Duncan’s Eagle Project in 2011-2012 was to clean and wax the monument, as well as add a plaque for Major Justis Thorn Crosby, a local veteran, that explains the history of the park and Veterans Monument.
(Close-up photo of plaque courtesy of Jack and Jimmy Duncan)
