PROSPECT PARK — Sixty-five national flags are depicted on a new mural at the entrance to Hofstra Park, an art project that officials have called a symbol of the borough's diversity and its acceptance of immigrants.

The 16-by-29½-inch flags represent the heritage of those currently settled in the borough, with Old Glory serving as the painting's focal point.

The mural is a tapestry of colors and shapes on what was always a barren canvas — a dull retaining wall that was often overlooked, at the corner of Savoy Place and Struyk Avenue.

The work was a joint effort by Eastern Christian High School in North Haledon; Manchester Regional High School in Haledon; the K-8 school on Brown Avenue; and Halls That Inspire Inc., a nonprofit that does graphic design projects with underserved students.

"If this wall could talk," Mayor Mohamed Khairullah said at its recent unveiling, "it'd tell you of the many people who have walked through this community — the many immigrants of this community."

Khairullah, himself an immigrant from Syria, told guests at the unveiling ceremony that for his family and for many others, the borough is like a haven to build the American dream.

"This is truly a nation of opportunities," Khairullah said.

The ceremony, attended by several local, county and state politicians, was punctuated by the big reveal. The artwork was shrouded behind a sheet of black plastic until men climbed through the brush to the top of the wall, lifted rocks that held the tarp in place and let it fall to the ground.

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The flags cover about half of the mural. On the left side of the wall, the artists painted a depiction of the Statue of Liberty and an excerpt of "The New Colossus," the famous poem whose text is inscribed on a plaque at the landmark.

The title of the mural, "One Humanity," is painted on the other side.

According to census figures, 2,252 of 6,372 residents in Prospect Park — or 35.3% — are foreign-born, and more than half speak a language other than English at home.

The borough was at one time a Dutch enclave; today, the data shows that 6.5% of residents claim they can trace their ancestry to the Netherlands.

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Borough Administrator Intashan Chowdhury said the flags were selected for the 63-foot mural by conducting an online survey of residents.

The concept for the mural was first developed by Christopher Pico, a 2020 graduate of Eastern Christian.

Khairullah said work was supposed to begin that year, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the project until this past spring. By that time, the idea evolved into a collaboration among more than 40 students from the three schools, and the borough commissioned Halls That Inspire to lend its expertise.

This is truly a nation of opportunities.

Halls That Inspire, established a decade ago in Hyattsville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., has completed projects at many schools in this area, including in Clifton, Dover and Newark. The charity has also done much of its work in Paterson, with murals painted at historic Hinchliffe Stadium and on the exterior of a Spruce Street factory.

David Thompson, its founder, said the local project was an "amazing experience." While the students applied the base coat and outlined the flags, he said, he spent 7½ weeks at the wall to finish the job by himself. He said neighbors brought him cases of bottled water during the heat wave and that some even invited him to dinner at their homes.

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"I saw this whole thing, as it was materializing, begin to unify everyone," Thompson said.

School Superintendent Tyeshia Reels said the mural is a good reminder that regardless of our differences, "we all bleed the same color blood."

"We all breathe the same air," she said. "I didn't paint my own flag — I was part of the process of painting everyone's flags because I realized that this was bigger than me, and it's bigger than us."

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.