Hispanic Heritage Month, spanning mid-September to mid-October, is a time for Latinx people in the U.S. to celebrate their roots. Through the vantage of Hispanic / Latinx staff, we reflect on the namesake for Roberto Clemente State Park — the sole park in our system named in honor of a Hispanic icon.

Roberto Clemente State Park first opened in 1973 as the Harlem River Bronx State Park. In that same year, the New York State Commission met to rename the park after the famous Puerto Rican Hall of Fame Baseball player, Roberto Clemente, who tragically died in a plane crash off the coast of Puerto Rico taking aid to Nicaragua. 

The decision to rename the park after Clemente was not because he was a famous baseball player, but because he believed in helping people and doing good. He was truly a humanitarian. “Anytime you have an opportunity to make a difference in this world and you don’t, then you are wasting your time on Earth,” he once said.

I am joyful to be a Latina “Boricua” and oversee the first State Park built in New York City, and especially proud that it holds the name of Roberto Clemente. When I was a young child, I remember my mother speaking about how, although we came from a town next to his, our cousins lived in the town Roberto Clemente came from. I often remember him and think of my baseball card collection.

New York State Parks is a great place to work, and I have had the pleasure of being the park director at Roberto Clemente for over 19 years — it has been a true joy to work with so many great people and a melting pot of a community. 

I overhear stories of parents who come to the park. They tell their children about the great ballplayer and suggest that they follow in their footsteps of enjoying the park, the pool, and the picnic areas. Seeing those traditions makes me smile every time.

During this Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, I say “Bienvenidos a todos, saludos y gracias!”

-Written by Frances Rodriguez, Park Director at Roberto Clemente State Park