'Central Park 5' Exhibit Proposed For Permanent Place In The Park

CENTRAL PARK, NY — In a recent Zoom call, the Upper West Side's Community Board 7 listened to a presentation about creating a permanent exhibit in Central Park to honor the "Exonerated Five," previously referred to as the "Central Park Five."

The possibility of a new exhibit in the iconic Manhattan park was first reported on by ILoveTheUpperWestSide.com.

The presentation was led by Community Board 10 Park's Committee Chair, Karen Horry, who described the meeting as a "proposal to commemorate the exonerate five and the need for social justice reform in Central Park."

Horry suggested that the exhibit be placed in the northeast section of the park, and ideally, at 110th Street and Fifth Avenue, which would be on the route that the Exonerated Five entered Central Park in 1989 on the night they were first arrested.

Specific designs for the exhibit have not yet been released, but Horry said the aim is to finish the exhibit by April 2022. The date is the 20th anniversary of the exoneration.

"It celebrates the extraordinary diversity and history of our community while pointing to the city's aspirations for the future," Horry said about what the exhibit would mean.

The mission has the approval of Central Harlem Community Board 10 and letters of support from community boards 2, 4,9, and 11. Additionally, on Oct. 23, Horry submitted a Statement of Objectives and Goals to the Central Park Conservancy with the backing of the mayor's office.

The Exonerated 5 were five youths from Harlem who were wrongfully arrested for attacking a white jogger in Central Park in 1989. The group served between six and 13 years in prison before serial rapist Matias Reyes admitted to the crime. You can find out more about the story here.