Chester didn’t have authority to name park for boy killed saving sister

The Chester City Council didn’t have the authority to rename a local park last month to honor La’Darious Wylie, the 11-year-old boy who lost his life when he pushed his 7-year-old sister out of the way of an oncoming car.

Brooklyn Park is the site of the old “Brooklyn Elementary School for Coloreds,” where Chester’s black children attended classes during segregation. It is on Ashford Street in the Brooklyn neighborhood, just down the road from where La’Darious died.

While the city takes care of maintenance of the park, it is owned by the Brooklyn Center Trust.

Leaders of the non-profit say they are proud of La’Darious’ courage, but they are reluctant to change the historic name of the property, where the old school building still sits.

On Oct. 28, La’Darious and his younger sister, Sha’Vonta McCrorey, were waiting for the school bus near their home when a car came toward them. La’Darious shoved his sister out of the path of the vehicle, but it struck him instead, killing him. The driver then left the scene. His heroism, first reported in The Herald, has received national attention.

Less than three weeks later, the City Council voted unanimously to rename the park “La’Darious Wylie Park of Brooklyn.”

News that the city didn’t have the right to rename the park for her son disappointed Liz McCrorey and others who supported the name change.

“I had no idea,” McCrorey said Thursday. “Maybe it can be worked out still.”

It remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached, but any agreement would have to be between the Brooklyn Center Trust and those who want to honor La’Darious. The city will have no role, City Administrator Sandi Worthy said.

When the city council meets on Monday, Worthy said, she will advise them of the mistake and that they must rescind the attempted name change.

Billy Powell, chairman of the Brooklyn trustees board, said the trust has owned the property since 1987, but city officials likely did not know about the ownership and the 99-year agreement the trust and city have. The trust bought the property to preserve its historic integrity, he said.

The trust has received grants from private donors to renovate the property, many of which governments are not eligible for. The city acted without researching its ownership, Powell said.

Opposing the name-change is “not a rebuke” against La’Darious and his family and supporters, Powell said. The Brooklyn trustees are not against honoring La’Darious, he said, but they do not want the historic name changed.

“We sympathize with them and are willing to sit down and work out something,” Powell said.

A private company has offered to donate new playground equipment and the labor to install it at the park, but it was unclear Thursday whether that offer would still stand.

Michael Halsey, a Chester community activist who led the push to rename the park for La’Darious, hopes to meet with Powell and other Brooklyn Trust leaders soon.

“We want to encourage them to honor this young boy, who was so courageous,” Halsey said. “He’s a hero.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Chester didn’t have authority to name park for boy killed saving sister."