Author: Cornershop Creative

c. Aaron Almendral

Plan Your Prospect Park Wedding—Virtually!

June 23, 2020

The pandemic has thrown a wrench into the wedding season, with nuptials postponed while we wait for the all-good to gather in person. While the parties are pending, many couples are moving ahead in planning their special day. In Prospect Park, we are helping couples plan their weddings—virtually! 

Contact us to set up your virtual Picnic House 

Prospect Park holds one of Brooklyn’s favorite wedding venues, the Prospect Park Picnic House. We spoke to Cat Feliciano, Prospect Park Alliance’s Rentals & Event Planning Coordinator for the Prospect Park Picnic House, about the current state of weddings in the park and her virtual tours.

Hi Cat! What is the new process for setting up a virtual tour of the Picnic House?

Couples can get in touch with us through our website contact form, and then we will contact you to set up a virtual tour of the Prospect Park Picnic House, usually on Thursdays between 11 am – 2 pm.

Great, once you set up a tour, what happens next?

We will send you a link to a video meeting, and we do a walk through of the space using the 360 degree tour we have of the facility. I start at out front of the building, just like I would if we were in person, and walk you through the whole space, pointing out amenities and the outdoor areas that are part of the rental. During the tour, I take questions about everything you could want to know about having a wedding at the Prospect Park Picnic House. After the tour, I follow up with photos of previous weddings and celebrations, and give you lots of information about our caterers and preferred vendors.

What questions always come up on these tours?

Everyone is asking, “when are you going to be open?” and of course we don’t know, but we’re optimistic that it will be soon since we’re already in Phase 2 of the reopening. More intimate gatherings may come back first before we are able to be at full capacity. People like to know about the amenities at the Picnic House, about the House Manager that comes with the space, and about our vendors and caterers. 

When are people booking their weddings for?

Right now we’re seeing a lot of people booking dates in 2021 or 2022. We know that is far off, and if you want to hold a date, we give you a courtesy hold of five days so that you can reach out to vendors, speak with your family, and figure out if it works for you.

Do you anticipate holding in-person showings of the Prospect Park Picnic House soon?

Yes, the in-person showings will soon be starting back up. We’re following all precautions to keep our staff and our patrons safe and we’ll keep holding the virtual tours so that people don’t have to worry about putting themselves at risk. 

Learn more about having your wedding or special event at the Prospect Park Picnic House.

 

c. Christian Zimmerman

Prospect Park Construction Updates

With New York City now in the first phases of re-opening, Prospect Park Alliance is back up and running on a number of park improvement projects, from the Flatbush Avenue perimeter to the Long Meadow Ball Fields. Construction completion dates are currently being finalized. Learn more about park improvements on our Capital Projects Tracker.

Concert Grove Pavilion
Through funding from former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, Prospect Park Alliance is undertaking the $2 million restoration of the Concert Grove Pavilion. This pavilion was closed to the public in 2014 due to structural damage. The Alliance is restoring this historic structure and add new lighting to return this cherished community space to public use. 

Flatbush Avenue Entrances 
This $3.2 million project, funded by Mayor Bill de Blasio through the Parks without Borders program, enables the Alliance to create two new entrances along the park’s Flatbush Avenue perimeter: the first new entrances to the park since the 1940s. A major entrance is being created in the northeast section of the park near the Rose Garden and a minor secondary entrance is being created just north of the Prospect Park Zoo. The entrances feature new lighting, seating and trees, as well as new plantings. The major entrance will feature two levels of terraced seating that provides views of the surrounding woodlands. Stepping stones will lead to an informal running trail atop a berm; and the landscape will also feature a rock scramble of boulders sourced from the building site of nearby NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

Kensington Dog Run  
Prospect Park Alliance has created a dog run in the Prospect Park Parade Ground along Coney Island Avenue, which is very close to completion. The $452,000 project was funded by Borough President Adams and New York City Council Members Dr. Mathieu Eugene and Brad Lander, and advocated by local groups Brooklyn FIDO and the Kensington Dog Run Association. The project includes 7,000 square feet of fenced-in space, separated areas for large dogs and small dogs, and features an innovative canine-friendly turf, a first for a New York City park. The dog run also will feature benches made of reclaimed wood from downed park trees. Additional enhancements include waste-receptacles, water fountains and new plantings of trees and dog waste-resistant shrubs.

 Long Meadow Ball Fields 4 and 5 Restoration 
New York City Council Member Brad Lander provided $1.25 million in funding toward the ongoing restoration of the Long Meadow Ball Fields, a 34-acre site. To date Fields 1, 6 and 7 have been restored. The project includes restoring the fields and providing additional drainage to keep the fields in good playing condition; adding new pathways and benches, dedicated clay storage bins and shaded dugouts.

c. Jonathan Grassi

Sounds of Prospect Park Summer

With New York City still in the early stages of reopening, Prospect Park Alliance has had to cancel many of the beloved summer events that bring us together as a community in Brooklyn’s Backyard. But all is not lost! You can still celebrate summer, and we’ve got playlists from our friends at the New York Philharmonic, caribBEING and Lola Star’s Dreamland Roller Disco to bring the sounds of Prospect Park summer to you, wherever you are.

NY Philharmonic Concerts in the Park Playlist
“As a New Yorker, nothing makes me prouder than the Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks,” said New York Philharmonic President and CEO Deborah Borda. “Performing in our beautiful parks is both a highlight of the summer and a great way to connect directly with our community, made possible through the remarkable generosity of Didi and Oscar Schafer. The entire Orchestra can’t wait until we can resume this vibrant tradition and return to our enthusiastic Prospect Park audience next summer!” Tune in on June 25 for the NY Philharmonic’s virtual Concert in the Parks celebration.

caribBEING Soiree Playlist
Prospect Park Alliance’s annual summer Soiree was canceled this year, but you can still celebrate summer with help from our friends at caribBEING and DJ Tony Gold: “For me Soiree always marks the beginning of summer,” says Shelley Worrell, founder of caribBEING. “Always a magical evening…I remember last year’s epic fête as if it were yesterday! Our tables had a ‘Tropical Chic’ theme with catered food and beverages from Black-owned Caribbean businesses Labay Market, Kafe L’ouverture and Peppas.” Enjoy weekly virtual events with caribBEING x Pop-Up Lefferts through July 12.

Here are Shelley’s tips on the perfect soiree (most businesses listed below are located in Little Caribbean NYC):

Lola Star’s Dreamland Roller Disco Playlist
While it might be a little while till we can boogie together on the roller rink at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Lola Star has put together a high-energy playlist so you can disco solo: “I had so much fun making this feel-good playlist designed to help you survive the roller coaster ride of 2020 and dance through the turmoil into a better world full of love, health and unity,” says Lola Star, founder and host of Lola Star’s Dreamland Roller Disco. “Until we meet on the Dreamland Roller Disco dance floor together again we can dance alone in our bedrooms in roller disco solidarity!”

Caribpolitan, Andrea Pippins for I AM CARIBBEING

Pop-Up Lefferts Launches with caribBEING Partnership

June 10, 2020

Prospect Park Alliance has announced the launch of Pop-Up Lefferts, which brings free family programs focused on Brooklyn’s rich culture and history, starting virtually this June with its second annual partnership with caribBEING, a Flatbush-based cultural organization that builds awareness and fosters Caribbean heritage, as part of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month.

In June, virtual programming will feature Caribbean-centered cooking, fitness, maker workshops and storytelling. Pop-Up Lefferts will then continue at locations around Prospect Park and surrounding neighborhoods while Lefferts Historic House undergoes a $2.5 million restoration funded by the New York City Council. 

Check out the scheduled events below and RSVP!

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Pop-Up Lefferts is supported in part by NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital. 
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Virtual Pop-Up Lefferts: caribBEING Cooks
Sunday, June 21, 2 pm
All ages, Free
Join Prospect Park Alliance and caribBEING to explore culinary traditions of Brooklyn. First, take a virtual tour of the Labay Market in Flatbush’s Little Caribbean to learn about the spices of the Caribbean, and then join us for a cooking demonstration with Nuyorican local makers Breukelen Rub, followed by a moderated conversation on Caribbean culinary traditions. 

Virtual Pop-Up Lefferts: Caribbean Fitness in de Park
Sunday June 28, 2 pm
All ages, Free
Learn how to utilize the park to improve your fitness, strength and endurance in this workshop led by Trinidadian-American, Flatbush-based performance coach, Marlon Jude, and then join him for a moderated conversation where he can answer your questions about getting fit and healthy in the park.  

Virtual Pop-Up Lefferts: Caribbean Candle Making
Sunday July 5, 2 pm
All ages, Free
Relax and enjoy a guided candle-making class with local maker Perry Boyce (Guyanese-American). Participants will try their hand at every step of the candle making process and create a custom candle of their very own, and then join Boyce for a moderated conversation about growing up in Flatbush, her art and practice.

Virtual Pop-Up Lefferts: Stories from the Caribbean
Sunday July 12, 2 pm
All ages, Free
Hear a selection of wise and witty Caribbean stories, as told by beloved storyteller Tammy Hall, then join us for a moderated conversation with Hall about the inspiration for these stories.

Lefferts Historic House is an 18th-century farmhouse that features a working garden, historic artifacts, period rooms and exhibits. The museum focuses on the lives of the people that lived and worked on the land including the Lenape, Dutch settlers and enslaved Africans. The museum is jointly operated by Prospect Park Alliance and the Historic House Trust of New York City. Starting in 2020, Prospect Park Alliance will undertake the restoration of the house, which will include capital improvements—replacing the roof, restoring the exterior of the building, and repairing paths and drainage surrounding the house—as well as re-envisioning the public programming to provide a living history of Brooklyn from the 18th century to present day.

About caribBEING
Founded in 2012, caribBEING builds cultural awareness and fosters Caribbean heritage through Film + Art + Culture. This creative hub is a fully-integrated, award-winning group that has partnered with Brooklyn Museum, the James Beard Foundation and other cultural partners. Learn more at caribbeing.com.

About Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard, in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the Park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. Learn more at prospectpark.org.

About NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital has been providing outstanding medical care to the surrounding communities for over 130 years. Located in Park Slope, Brooklyn, the 591-bed teaching hospital is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medicine and provides specialized services in advanced and minimally invasive surgery, neurosciences, orthopedics, digestive and liver disorders, and cancer and cardiac care. Learn more at nyp.org/brooklyn.

c. Anna Watts for The Wall Street Journal

Taking Care of Brooklyn’s Backyard in a Pandemic

May 18, 2020

As is the case for so many, work looks a little different these days for Prospect Park Alliance. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team has had to find ways of caring for the park with limited staff and a high number of visitors, while meeting the challenges of our current socially distanced moment. 

Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that cares for the park in partnership with the city, provides critical staff and resources that keep Brooklyn’s Backyard green and vibrant. As highlighted in a recent report, the pandemic has resulted in a loss of critical funding for parks across the city. For Prospect Park Alliance, the closure of park amenities like the Prospect Park Tennis Center and LeFrak Center at Lakeside, and also the cancellation of fundraising events like Party for the Park, has resulted in nearly $3 million in lost revenue.

This loss in funding has impacted the Alliance in terms of our ability to hire seasonal staff, roughly 20% of our total workforce, for horticulture work, summer weekend cleanup crews and woodland restoration. In addition, the city has reduced its workforce to respond to cuts to the city budget, and the Alliance’s essential volunteer workforce of nearly 4,000 has been placed on hold due to safety concerns around the pandemic.

No matter the impact, nature goes on, and so does the work of the Alliance. In the past few months, Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks staff have been at work in the park performing basic maintenance. For our landscape management team, the Alliance had to forgo its normal spring planting season of more than 5,000 trees, plants and shrubs throughout the park’s 585 acres, and instead is focused on picking up trash in sensitive woodland areas, weeding and repairing fencing. In addition, Alliance staff who are home due to PAUSE New York have been volunteering in the park to support our essential NYC Parks workers, helping to clean the park and perform basic repairs.

With the Audubon Center and Lefferts Historic House shuttered, Alliance educators have taken their curriculums online! In a normal season, these  park destinations are home to hundreds of  free public programs for tens of thousands of community members each year. Now, these activities are going up online at Virtual Prospect Park—so you can experience the park from the comfort of your own home. 

With the summer months close at hand, and the city’s pools and potentially beaches closed to the public, the Alliance is bracing for a busier than usual summer season with limited staff and resources. Want to make a difference in your park? Consider becoming a member of Prospect Park Alliance with a limited-time discount. In addition to benefits that enhance your enjoyment of the park, you will feel good knowing that your support will make an immediate difference in your park. Join today!

3 Ways You Show Your Prospect Park Love

In uncertain times, one of the things Prospect Park Alliance can count on is our community to show the park some love—in wonderful and creative ways! We’re highlighting some of the park-inspired photos, poems and works of art that you’ve shared with us through our social media channels. They’ve brightened our days, and we hope they’ll lift your spirits, too.

Poems

April was National Poetry month, and we asked for your park-inspired haikus. Here are a few gems: 

Saw friend from afar,
Together we breathe and laugh,
Is this heaven now?

-Instagram user @routinetheenemy

Two cooper hawks eat
Silently. The midwood shows
Life, and death, go on.

-Instagram user @malkombre

Trees wear pastel veils
of delicate buds and leaves
that bask in morning light

-Instagram user @ejgertz​

Art

Prospect Park has always been a source of inspiration for artists, and these days we’ve been loving seeing the park through your eyes: 

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From Instagram user @johnparnellstudio

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From Instagram user @judipheifferart

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From Instagram user @bigskysafaris

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From Instagram user @shogandrawings​

Photography

There is never a shortage of excellent photography taken in  Prospect Park. In recent weeks, our community has kept up the beautiful shots with poignant captions to match. 

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From Instagram user @flysi3000, “The world is still a beautiful place. Feeling very appreciative of the beauty that’s right outside my window.”

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From Instagram user @virginial.s.freire, “In my life as a photographer, a mother, and a native Brooklynite, I have always been grateful to Prospect Park. But now more than ever the Park has been a touchstone that has bolstered me through this time, helped me find daily moments of beauty, and provided me with space to breathe. There at sunrise, the trails and ‘secret places’ in the Park offer respite and a place to reflect, find resolve, and overcome my own anxieties. I am eternally grateful.”

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And from Instagram user @vali.bas, “there is light at the end of the path.”

Want to contribute? Show us your drawings, photos, poems, performance pieces and more on social media—tag @prospect_park or use #prospectpark.

 

Community Pitches In To Pick Up Trash

In a normal year, Prospect Park receives upwards of 10 million visits—folks flock to Brooklyn’s Backyard for picnics, play dates, concerts, dog walks and so much more. During the best of times, tidying up after these visits is an enormous undertaking, requiring the help of dozens of NYC Parks and Prospect Park Alliance staff and volunteers. This work helps ensure that the park stays clean and safe for our community and the wildlife that call Prospect Park home.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to the park. With nearly everything other public space closed, parks have never been more essential for our community—or more visited. Across the city, parks are packed and trash is on the rise. As the Alliance deals with reduced staff in the park, and reduced revenue to pay for supplemental cleaning crews, we are looking to our community to help keep this shared space clean—and you are stepping up!

Want to join in the fight to keep Prospect Park clean and healthy? Here are our tips:

  • An easy way to help keep the park clean? Carry your trash out of the park with you when you go or locate a park dumpster for trash to prevent overfilling smaller receptacles.
  • Want to play a bigger part? Make your own Green-and-Go Kit by pulling together garbage bags, trash grabbers and gloves for your next trip to the park.
  • If you are helping out, please observe social distancing guidelines—wear a face covering and keep 6 feet of distance from others.
  • Stick to park paths to avoid trampling fragile park habitats, and thank you for doing your part for Brooklyn’s Backyard! 

Learn more about how you can help Prospect Park Alliance sustain the park environment. 

Images: above via Gail Greenberg, below left via Paula Zamora Gonzalez, below right via Pristine Johannessen

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This year on Earth Day, April 22, Prospect Park Alliance piloted a Green + Go Kit volunteer program, which offered trash grabbers and garbage bags to ecologically minded Brooklynites. Forty kits were loaned to the public in an effort to create a socially distanced volunteer opportunity, and the response was more than enthusiastic: all kits were booked in just three days. 

“It was a very diverse group of people—all ages and cultures were represented, adults and families with children,” said Maria Carrasco, Vice President for Public Programs at Prospect Park Alliance. “People were very thankful that the Alliance was offering this opportunity, and they walked out the door and started cleaning up trash right away!”

The Green + Go Kit volunteers aren’t the only ones who have been helping with trash collection—the help regular park-goers who are doing their part has been reported far and wide: these community members have been going out of their way to help pick up litter to keep Brooklyn’s Backyard clean and beautiful. 

 

c. A.J. Logan

May Species of the Month

May 15, 2020

Species of the Month is a botanical column written by Prospect Park Alliance Natural Resources Crew Foreperson, A.J. Logan. Learn more about how Prospect Park Alliance is Sustaining the Environment.

This month we’re highlighting an under-appreciated native woodland shrub: 

Aronia melanocarpa, commonly known as chokeberry

Chokeberry 2

Chokeberry (not to be confused with chokecherry, which is a totally different species) is an understory and woodland edge multi-stemmed shrub that can grow to about 6 feet tall, and 6 feet wide, but usually gets to about half that size. It provides interest for humans, birds, insects and small mammals. Its leaves emerge light green with a tinge of red around the edges, then develop into a darker glossy green by summer. It has showy white flowers in spring, dark clusters of berries in summer, and colorful foliage (purplish-red, red, yellow or orange) in the autumn.

The chokeberry blooms in May, and you’ll see the delicate five-petalled white flowers with pink anthers (the part of the stamen that contains the pollen) on the unpollinated flowers. The pollinated flowers have more faded looking anthers. Many different insects will pollinate the flowers: bumblebees, multiple fly species, wasps, and several solitary bee species.

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The pollinated flowers will develop deep blue-to black berries which are extremely high in the phytonutrients and antioxidants found in all berries. Unfortunately for humans, these don’t have a great flavor (tart, astringent) which is where the name ‘chokeberry’ supposedly comes from. Critters that like the berries are black-capped chickadees, robins, cedar waxwings, rabbits and white-footed mice, among others. Some birds will only eat them as a last resort, due to the astringent taste.

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Chokeberry bushes can be found throughout the Prospect Park woodlands: on Lookout Hill, in the Vale of Cashmere, the Sugar Bowl, the Midwood, among other places. If you cannot find any, fear not: there is no shortage of other blooming things to appreciate in the park at this time!

c. Martin Seck

Looking to Summer in NYC Parks

May 12, 2020

What will this summer look like for New York City parks? A recent report issued by a coalition of 20 parks and open space partner groups anticipates a steep decline in funding that will impact the basic maintenance and upkeep of our parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the findings from the 20 park partner groups:

  • An anticipated decrease in funding for parks groups of up to 68% for 2020, which will translate into at least $37 million fewer dollars invested into New York City’s public spaces. 
  • A combination of staff cuts and social distancing measures will result in 40,000 lost hours of park maintenance and 110,000 lost hours of horticultural care citywide.
  • Approximately 542,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, and annuals will not be planted in 2020 as a result of this diminished capacity.

Read the full impact report, which was also reported in The Wall Street Journal.

“In these unprecedented times, our parks are one of the few places open to our community,” said Sue Donoghue, President of Prospect Park Alliance. “We all need to do our part to help keep up with increased usage in the face of significant challenges. It is critical for all New Yorkers to have access to safe, clean parks, today and in the challenging times ahead.”

During New York State on PAUSE, the city’s parks have become even more essential to New Yorkers for mental and physical health. This summer, the city’s parks anticipate a huge increase in patrons, especially with the closure of public pools and uncertainty of whether beaches will be open. Under normal circumstances, parks would be hiring seasonal workers for this high season to keep up with the influx of visitors. Unfortunately, without sufficient funding to offset the decline in its operating budgets, New York City’s parks will be negatively impacted this summer and for years to come.

NYC’s parks conservancies and nonprofits were originally formed to bridge a major gap of resources after the fiscal crisis in the 1970’s that left the city’s parks in a severely deteriorated and unsafe condition. Now, citywide, independent groups support the New York City’s Parks Department in managing 15,000+ acres of parkland and green space–50% of NYC’s public green space–and employ 500+ full-time staff, hundreds of seasonal workers, and 100,000+ volunteers to help care for the parks. Collectively, the partner groups invest private funds of over $150 million annually in public land. The groups also fund countless community programs each year and support local initiatives that encourage healthy living, an active space for children and families, and a respite for millions of New Yorkers.

The following organizations were surveyed for this report: Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Bronx River Alliance, City Parks Foundation, Freshkills Park Alliance, The Friends of Governors Island, Friends of the High Line, Gowanus Canal Conservancy, Hudson River Park Friends, Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, Madison Square Park Conservancy, Natural Areas Conservancy, New Yorkers for Parks, New York Restoration Project, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, Prospect Park Alliance, Randall’s Island Park Alliance, Riverside Park Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Van Cortlandt Park Alliance, Washington Square Park Conservancy.

Looking to make a difference? Add your signature to the New Yorkers for Parks Play Fair campaign petition, which seeks to add $47 million to the city’s budget for parks and open spaces. Learn more on the New Yorkers for Parks website.

Want to become part of the driving force that keeps Brooklyn’s Backyard green and vibrant? Consider becoming a Prospect Park Alliance member today and enjoy discounted rates for a limited time.

 

4 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

April 21, 2020

Happy Earth Day! This year, people all around the world are celebrating a milestone—the 50th anniversary of this international day of action for our environment. While we cannot gather together, our environmental educators have organized a celebration with fun activities and programs that will bring the wonders of nature in Prospect Park to life no matter where you are.

Finally, this Earth Day, sustain the park that sustains you:  right now your gift will go twice as far to sustain our community’s essential green space. We’re excited to announce that a pair of generous Prospect Park Alliance supporters have made a pledge: they will match all donations up to $20,000, dollar-for-dollar. Now is the perfect time to make your gift to support the park you love—when it will go twice as far and do twice as much to preserve this essential natural oasis.

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Prospect Park is home to Brooklyn’s last remaining forest, only lake and hundreds of species of plants and animals. Give now in honor of Earth Day—and know that your donation will be put to work immediately to sustain the park you love.

And from all of us here at Prospect Park Alliance, happy Earth Day!