Julian Brennan Way (aka PPW and 15th Street)

Prospect Park West at 15th Street (where it intersects Bartel Pritchard Square) is now "Julian Brennan Way."  Marine Lance Corporal Julian Brennan lived in South Park Slope, in a family that reflects much of what is best about our community. He loved his country, and he expressed a deep empathy for the Afghan people. Julian was 25 when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan’s Farah Province on January 24, 2009.  On Saturday, October 29, we had the honor of remembering him by co-naming the block in his memory.

Julian was a remarkable person, a gifted actor, an avid cyclist, who felt a call to service at the funeral for his grandfather, a Marine who fought in World War II.  "The only way I think I can describe myself," he wrote, "is as a guy who will go out of his way to make someone laugh, write a great song, find a reason to dance, and watch the sun rise every chance he gets." You can read a beautiful piece from the New York Times about him here.

One of the most remarkable things about Julian – and about the Brennan family – is how they combine the deepest ideals of service from both older and newer parts of our neighborhood. Julian followed his Irish Catholic grandfather James into the Marines, feeling that after September 11th he had a duty to fight for the ideals and the security of our country. And he also followed his mother Thya, an artist, and father Bill, a musician and actor who performs kids’ music (he appears on one Park Slope Parents CD), and who played a song of forgiveness and healing at Julian’s memorial service.

Too often in our neighborhood, it seems as if these very different ideals might exist in neighboring houses on a block in Park Slope or Windsor Terrace or Carroll Gardens, but that they are still two different cultures, sometimes even worlds apart. Julian’s family's example reminds us that these values can thrive not just in the same neighborhood, but under the same roof, and even in the same heart. They are, after all, different ways of serving something bigger than ourselves.

That's why this location is especially fitting.  It had special meaning to Julian, who trained for triathlons in Prospect Park.  And it has special meaning to Brooklyn.  Bartel Pritchard Square is where Park Slope and Windsor Terrace come together.  More than that: the monument in the center of the circle was dedicated in 1923, to two young men from Brooklyn -- Emil Bartel from Windsor Terrace, and William Pritchard, from Crown Heights -- who also gave their lives in the service of their country.  

We are honored to extend this tradition of remembering and honoring their service.