Anthony Catanzaro Square is located within a traffic triangle that is the result of three street grids that meet in theBath Beach neighborhood ofBrooklyn, New York. At this junction, West 16 Street meets its northern end at the same place where Avenue Y meets its western end, both of these roads meeting Bay 50th Street.
In 1963, theCity Council designated this triangle as Anthony Catanzaro Square, in honor of Private First Class Anthony Catanzaro (1916-1943), who was killed in the service of the country duringWorld War II. A son ofItalian immigrants, Anthony Catanzaro lived across the street from the triangle. Fighting in the 322nd Fighter Control Squadron, his ship was on its way to thefront in Italy when it was torpedoed on November 26, 1943 by German forces. Private First Class Catanzaro was posthumously awarded thePurple Heart medal and buried at the nearby North Africa American Cemetery inCarthage, Tunisia. In this war, his younger brother Joseph (1919-2015) survived the June 6, 1944invasion of Normandy and returned home vowing to honor Anthony.
Through the efforts of Joseph, a flagpole was installed and shrubs planted at the site, lovingly cared by Joseph who raised the park’s flag each morning.[1]
Anthony Catanzaro Square is part of the Greenstreets program, a partnership between theNew York City Parks Department and the cityDepartment of Transportation that transforms unused traffic triangles and medians into green spaces.
40°35′12″N73°59′8″W / 40.58667°N 73.98556°W /40.58667; -73.98556
