American photojournalist Jacob Riis (best known for How The Other Half Lives) is generally credited with "transforming Mulberry Bend from a 'notorious slum' to a park" in order to improve tenement dwellers' quality of life in the neighborhood.

In 1897, due in part to Riis's advocacy, Mulberry Bend was demolished, tearing down "several blocks" of what the American Park and Outdoor Art Association called "the worst tenement-houses in the world.

[7]The same year, Riis praised the park's positive effects on the impoverished children and the neighborhood crime rate:The troublesome boys had not moved away.

"[17] In 2019, a statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen by Lu Chun-Hsiung and Michael Kang was permanently installed in the northern plaza of the park.

[20] The project and its flowers are "in tribute to AAPI community builders, embodying collaboration, triumph over struggle and inspiring future generations.