purchased in September 1959 from the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad for $3 million. The former Van Nest Yards were built in 1907 and the Yards, now Con Edison Service Center consists of . Park Van Nest Park is bound by White Plains Road to the east, Unionport Road to the west, and Van Nest Avenue to the north. Mead Street bisects Van Nest Park from Van Nest Memorial Square, which houses the war memorial. Van Nest Park was acquired by New York City in August 1913, the present location of Van Nest Memorial Square. In April 1922, the land was placed under Parks' jurisdiction. The monument, which stands at the center of the original park, was erected in April 1926 by the Van Nest Citizens' Patriotic League, who were, at one time, located at 1800 Hunt Avenue. The monument is made of Deere Isle granite and was designed by architect Arthur G. Waldreaon. The park, like the neighborhood, was named after Reynier Van Nest, a saddle maker. Three of the four granite panels have the names of fallen soldiers from World War I, Korea, and Vietnam. The main facing panel has a tribute to fallen soldiers from World War II. By 1938, the park expanded to include not only a monument but playground equipment. The monument was rededicated by the Italian-American War Veterans' Bronx County Post #39 in October 1973. Memorial and Veterans' Day services have been reinstituted in previous years to pay respect to the deceased, as well as current and former servicemen and women. The monument area is slated to be redesigned and upgraded starting in Spring 2018. Additionally, a flagpole will be added to complete renovation. In 1997, Mayor Rudy Giuliani funded a $30,000 renovation of the park replacing the old playground equipment. Dialogue concerning the renovation of the park was started in 2010. However, as of May 2011, $950,000 had been allocated for renovations to the playground. Construction of the park was started in March 2014 and lasted for a year. The renovated park's railroad theme is based on the neighborhood's long-standing ties to the Van Nest station along the Northeast Corridor. Additionally, security cameras were installed through a contribution from Cross-County Federal Bank to monitor night time activity in the park. State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein was instrumental in securing the proper permits for the cameras. Van Nest Park, after being completely