Andrew Haswell Green, who led the effort to consolidate the five boroughs, headed the commission that created Central Park, and helped establish the Metropolitan Museum and Museum of Natural History, was shot to death on Park Avenue in a case of mistaken identity 104 years ago this month. Manhattan-borough historian Michael Miscione gathered 70 other local-history buffs to honor Green November 18 at his only city monument: a stone bench hidden away in Central Park. “We want to do something,” said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, who biked to the event in black spandex. “Our best idea is to name the waterfront path along the Hudson the Andrew Haswell Green Way.” Other ideas, like renaming a small park, are under consideration, but these plans have been a long time coming. “Even the commission that approved the bench in Central Park said they hoped Green would get a better monument somewhere down the line,” says Miscione. That was almost 80 years ago.
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