At first glance, the metal trellis adorning a public bathroom in a playground in Riverside Park may have appeared innocuous. And the park, known as the Ten Mile River Playground, was located in Harlem, a predominantly Black neighborhood — a fact that seemed to many to be beyond coincidence. Shiloh Frederick, a content creator who focuses on New York City history, first learned of the monkeys while reading “The Power Broker,” Robert A. Caro’s seminal 1974 biography of Robert Moses, the parks commissioner who transformed the city through public works projects. Mr. Moses oversaw an expansion of Riverside Park in the 1930s. Mr. Caro wrote that Mr. Moses was known for adding details that made his projects “fit in with their setting,” generally with an eye to making people feel “at home.”

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Persons: Shiloh Frederick, ” Robert A, Robert Moses, Moses, Caro, “, ” Locations: Riverside, Harlem, New York City