Reiss Field, June 17, 2015, on the east side of Bronx Park, opposite
Reiss Place, just north of Pelham Parkway. This ball field stands precisely
where the
Parks Department press release
of October 31, 1939, announces a playground "designed by the Department
of Parks and built for the Park Department by the
Work Projects
Administration": a "1.36 acre playground in Bronx Park adjacent to Bronx
Park East opposite Reiss Place, contains one shuffleboard, four horseshoe
pitching, five paddle tennis, two volleyball and two basketball courts,
completely encircled by a roller skating track ... built on a former swamp
area". But what we have here is a ball field, not a playground. Anyway
this would seem an odd place for a playground since
Waring Playground is only about 400 feet away. I
think whoever wrote the press release was confused, and was describing
Waring Playground. Because the Parks Department has a
Reiss
Field page, which states that "Reiss Field opened on November 1, 1939,
with one baseball diamond, a backstop and dugouts, a drinking fountain, and
bleachers," which pretty much describes what we see there today. Except now
it's called Pelham Bay Little League Park. As the Parks web page explains, "In
1997, Council Member Madeleine Provenzano provided $7,000 to replace sod in
the infield, and the Pelham Parkway Little League reconstructed the fence."