Municipal officials are moving ahead with naming a park – Wrigley Park on Montgomery Street — after former councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes.
Ames-Garnes represented the 4th Ward in the City Council for 26 years. She was first elected in 1986 and retired in 2012.
“She has a record that nobody is going to break,” said councilwoman Ruby Cotton, who sponsored the renaming of the park.
Cotton said Ames-Garnes was responsible for Martin Luther King, Jr. Way and Rosa Parks Boulevard. She also played a role in initiating Black History Month celebration in Paterson, she said.
Cotton said she has been friends with Ames-Garnes for 40 years.
“We must celebrate her in life,” said council president Maritza Davila. She and her colleagues unanimously approved a resolution naming the park after the former councilwoman.
“She is still a force to be reckoned with,” said councilwoman Lilisa Mimms. “This is a small token.”
“She paved the way for people like me, people like us, to be here as elected officials,” added councilman Alex Mendez.
The measure was passed in a 7-0 vote. Officials will unveil a sign at the park in the future.
Wrigley Park was donated to the City of Paterson by Jane Wrigley in memory of her husband Thomas Wrigley, a prominent businessman who died in 1902. It was received with the condition that a monument of the husband would be erected in the park. That monument was installed in 1912.
