Author: Cornershop

c. Martin Seck

Curling Comes to Lakeside

November 20, 2014

This winter season, the LeFrak Center at Lakeside is going beyond its popular ice skating and hockey offerings to bring to Brooklyn the Olympic sport of curling.

Popular in New York in the mid-19th century, curling is a game in which players slide heavy, polished granite stones, called rocks, toward a circular target marked on the ice. Curling has been enjoying a revival since being added to the Olympic games in 1998, but this is the first time it has been played in New York in more than a century.

The LeFrak Center is home to the official Brooklyn Lakeside Curling Club, and currently the Center is offering classes for those interested in joining the league, with the hope of forming four tournament teams by January. The club is open to players of all levels of ability 21 years and older. For those new to the sport, four-week class sessions includes equipment, grippers for shoes, membership to the Grand National Curling Club and a complimentary post-game beer. The Center is also offering curling classes to corporate groups as a great team-building exercise. 

Read a New York Times article about curling at Lakeside.

Learn more about curling, skating and other winter activities at the LeFrak Center.

Joseph O. Holmes

Welcome

November 19, 2014

The Prospect Park Alliance has a new look and feel reflecting our goal to continue to serve you better. Today we are excited to introduce a newly redesigned website and newsletter that will improve your experience both on site and online, and provide you with more news and updates about your favorite Park.
 
Our new website features a responsive design, making it easier to use on smartphones and tablets, as well as an interactive map with location services for mobile devices (be sure to enable location services on your smartphone’s browser). The site also offers an expanded and customizable events calendar, a news blog and dedicated sections for the diverse range of activities that take place in the Park. The beautiful image featured above comes from Joseph O. Holmes, our Featured Artist of the season. View a full gallery of fall images from Joseph. 

Our goal is to provide the best experience to help you make the most of Prospect Park. We will continue to refine and improve the site, and welcome your feedback. Get in touch. 

PPA Profiles: Eric Johnsen

November 18, 2014

If you’re a regular at the Prospect Park Tennis Center then you’ve met Eric Johnsen, who works our front desk. Eric joined the staff of the Prospect Park Alliance over a decade ago, and has volunteered in the Park for more than 20 years. He’s devoted more than 4,200 hours of community service.

A Brooklyn native, Eric was born in Clinton Hill and grew up in Bay Ridge. He’s had a passion for Prospect Park since childhood. He explained, “My uncle took my brother and myself on the trolley to the zoo. That was back when they still had elephants.” He’s been in love with the place ever since.

Eric enjoys meeting new people at the Tennis Center, as well as helping visitors find their way when they’re lost. He still works with the Volunteer Corps, performing needed maintenance and landscaping duties. The bulk of his volunteer time is spent at the Special Events office where he works with sports teams to book the ballfields. On occasion, he’ll assist the fishing clinics at the Audubon Center, too.

In addition to being one of Prospect Park’s most committed advocates, Eric is also a talented baker. Say hello to him next time you’re at the Tennis Center.  

PPA Profiles: Peter Dorosh, Natural Resources Crew

November 16, 2014

Did you know that Prospect Park is home to Brooklyn’s only lake and last remaining forest? Learn more about the Alliance crew that takes care of the Park’s natural habitats, including Peter Dorosh, an avid birder whose love of nature was sparked as a child in Prospect Park.

 

Martin Seck

Enjoy Fall Foliage in Prospect Park

November 1, 2014

For a true taste of autumn in New York, there are few places more spectacular that Prospect Park. Daily visitors will notice the transformation throughout the Park as the canopies turn from lush green to brilliant amber and gold. In preparation for the changing season, we’ve suggested some of our favorite routes through Prospect Park to check out the stunning fall foliage.

Peninsula to Lookout Hill
While it’s difficult to pinpoint when and where the leaves will begin to change, the horse chestnuts on the Peninsula are typically the first to hint at the start of the season. The woodland paths will guide you through a variety of species, providing some of the most scenic lakeside views in the Park. After winding around the Lake, cross Wellhouse Drive to Lookout Hill, the Park’s highest point, where you will find raspberry bushes with leaves turning red as well as yellow-leaf tulip trees.

Lullwater and Nethermead
Starting at Lullwater Bridge, follow the shoreline toward the Nethermead, where you’ll find some of the earliest signs of the autumnal transition. The watercourse hosts tall maples and London Plane trees that have already begun to change color and drop their leaves.

Ravine to Long Meadow
Walk through the Nethermead Arches and up the slope to the woodland Ravine.  While it might be difficult to see the tops of the towering oak trees, shrubs like viburnum and serviceberry in the understory will begin to show signs that the fall has arrived.

Grand Army Plaza to Meadowport Arch
One of the most intimate places in Prospect Park is a small oval path just inside its northernmost entrance. Enter the Park at Grand Army Plaza near Prospect Park West, and head toward the Meadowport Arch. You’ll come to a gingko, Nyssa and Japanese Maple. If you catch these trees at the right time, you’ll find them cascading with color from the top down.  From there, the trees begin to change along the Long Meadow like a chain reaction.

 

c. Paul Martinka

Park Improvements

October 22, 2014

The Prospect Park Alliance has recently received more than $1.6 million in funding from government agencies on the federal, state and city levels to improve the northeast corner of the Park, including repairing storm damage in the Vale of Cashmere, and also reconstruction of the fencing and sidewalk along Flatbush Avenue.

The Alliance received nearly $730,000 from the National Park Service and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to repair storm damage in the Vale, a once lush garden oasis located along a dramatic 60-foot slope, which was originally a children’s play area. The Vale eventually surrendered its sweeping views of the surrounding landscape to maturing trees. Last year, the Alliance created the Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area, which used trees damaged by Hurricane Sandy to create a new play area for children, which this year was named Best of New York by New York magazine.

Hurricane Sandy destroyed 50 trees in the Vale, causing damage to adjacent structures and destabilization of the sloping landscape. This project will restore the woodlands, clean up storm damage, reset damaged boulders, and replant native trees and shrubs in order to stabilize the slope. In addition, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Council Member Laurie Cumbo recently awarded grants totaling $900,000 for the first phase of repairing the sidewalk and fencing along Flatbush Avenue. Together with the future opening of the Flatbush entrance to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, this project will go far in improving accessibility to this side of the Park.

Park improvements aren’t restricted to the northeast corner. A significant project is currently underway to restore the Long Meadow Ballfields, and to improve pedestrian pathways and drainage issues around the Park. This includes the reconstruction of the transverse path at the north end of the Long Meadow, which was made possible through funds from New York City Council Member Brad Lander through the Participatory Budget process. 

In addition, to improve drainage issues at the Park Circle entrance to the Park, the Alliance has installed rain gardens that help to absorbe stormwater runoff. Like the rain gardens at the LeFrak Center, the new installations will recycle the water to feed surrounding plants and trees. Other projects currently underway are the creation of the first compostable restrooms in a city park at the historic Wellhouse, and the City Council has recently awarded funding toward the renovation of the Prospect Park Bandshell. Stay tuned for further news on these Park improvements.

c. Greg Martin

PPA Profiles: Sue Donoghue

Both personally and professionally, city parks have played a central role in the life of Susan Donoghue, the Alliance’s new President and Park Administrator. After earning a Master of Public Administration at New York University, she spent six years at NYC Parks as an Assistant Commissioner, where she spearheaded the agency’s work on important initiatives such as PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg’s blueprint for enhancing the city’s sustainability. Through these initiatives, the city has planted more than 900,000 trees, renovated and constructed eight regional parks, and added over 260 new community playgrounds through the Schoolyards to Playgrounds Initiative in all five boroughs.

Yet her passion for Prospect Park goes beyond her work at NYC Parks. As a neighborhood resident and mother of three, the Park is a haven for her family. She brings her children to the Park to play sports, and three times a week takes an early morning jog around the loop. Even her pet enjoys the Park. “I have a puppy,” she explained, “so I’m in the Long Meadow early in the morning.”

Taken together, the role as Alliance President and Park Administrator could not be more ideal. “You don’t always get to combine what you really love with your professional experience,” she said.

Donoghue has a strong awareness of the challenges of running and operating an urban park, as well as what an incredibly vital resource the Park is for such a densely populated borough. One of the biggest challenges is harnessing resources and gaining consensus. Her time in city government was an education in what it takes to bring new initiatives to the fore. “Good communication is essential to help people understand what we do, why we’re doing it, and how it benefits everyone,” she said. “It takes partnering with the community to bring about change and incorporate new ideas.” In her new role, she is highly focused on making certain the Park serves the diverse groups that consider Prospect Park their backyard, and understanding their changing needs.

She also is dedicated to making certain the work of the Alliance in the ongoing care and maintenance of Prospect Park is able to meet the Park’s increasing use. “Parks all over the city are important examples of the city’s renaissance,” she said. “People are coming in droves, which is wonderful, but that can sometimes take a toll on the landscape.” Since the Alliance’s founding in the mid-1980s, Prospect Park has seen a huge increase in visitors, in the past 20 years alone it has grown from 2 million to more than 10 million visits annually.

Ultimately, Donoghue defines success for the Alliance as continuing to attract a wide range of visitors from across the borough by restoring the Park and bringing to fruition new amenities such as Lakeside; while keeping the Park clean, safe and well maintained.  

From the Archives: Halloween

The Halloween Haunted Walk is one of Prospect Park’s oldest and most anticipated seasonal traditions. Each year thousands of costumed children flock to the Park to enjoy carnival games, face painting, music and a spooky journey through haunted woods. 

In 1980, young ghouls and goblins were invited to descend on Prospect Park’s woodlands for the first Haunted Walk, originally in the Ravine. It was the perfect setting for an extremely spooky attraction. Costumed performers hid behind trees, a zombie emerged from a coffin, and a figure covered in moss sprang from the Binnen stream. The man responsible for the frightful scene was Urban Park Ranger Rick Garcia, who was the first to create and don the famous Headless Horseman costume that remains a staple of the Haunted Walk to this day. The core of Garcia’s vision was to create a “timeless Halloween” aesthetic, stocking the scenes with classic figures like witches, goblins, vampires and ghosts.

Over the years, the event grew in popularity. In 1987, Tupper Thomas, president of the newly formed Prospect Park Alliance, walked the long line wearing her iconic witch’s costume. The Alliance invited jugglers, actors and musicians to entertain the crowd as they waited for the anticipated trek. The Halloween Haunted Walk has remained a cherished Brooklyn tradition for over three decades, retaining its original spirit of bringing families into the heart of the Brooklyn’s most treasured park.

c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

Take a Fall Foliage Walk

One of the best walks to enjoy the fall foliage is a route that will take you across the Long Meadow and through the Ravine, the woodland centerpiece of Prospect Park and one of Brooklyn’s last remaining forests. Enjoy scenic views not only of the Park’s majestic trees, including native species such as Red Maples, Sugar Maples, Sour Gums, Sweetgums, Sassafras, and Hackberry, but also rustic bridges, streams and waterfalls. You can find maps at most Park entrances to help you find your way.

Starting from Grand Army Plaza, take the eastern pathway to the Endale Arch into the Long Meadow. At nearly one mile, it is one of the longest green spaces in an American urban park, and provides sweeping views of some of the Park’s more established trees. Also this time of year, you’re likely to see at least three different species of Raptors, including Broad-Winged, Coopers and Red-Tailed Hawks.

Follow the hex-block path along the east side of the Long Meadow until it forks at a tall oak tree, and take the path on the left into the woodlands. Follow the trail until you reach another fork, and take the wide stone steps on your left and then turn right down another set of steps. At the bottom you’ll find the little-known Boulder Bridge, a historic bridge that was recreated by the Alliance in the 1990s as part of the larger restoration of the Ravine. The view from this bridge is one of the most scenic in the Park at this time of year. After enjoying the view, return to the path and continue to the right of Boulder Bridge, down a few more steps.

At the bottom you will find a small octagonal footprint of a structure where an old rustic shelter once stood. Take in the view of the gorge below, and then continue down the steps until you reach Rock Arch Bridge and Ambergill Falls, one of several waterfalls that were designed by Park creators Olmsted and Vaux. Continue down the path until it forks, and then turn right and head up the sloping path back toward the Long Meadow.

Throughout the walk, keep your eyes peeled for an assortment of birds that make the Park home in the fall months, including Downy and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Northern Flickers, Black and White Warblers, Blue Jays, Chickadees, Robins, Mourning Doves and Cardinals.

c. Fiora Watts

Battling Dutch Elm Disease

September 2, 2014

The Prospect Park Alliance is currently battling a serious threat to one of its most majestic species of trees, the American elm. American elms used to be one of the predominant trees in American streetscapes and public parks, but over the course of the last century a bacteria called Dutch elm disease has had a devastating impact on these national treasures. The elms of Prospect Park are no exception, including a few significant specimens on the Long Meadow such as the knoll near Dog Beach, and a number in the Park’s woodlands.

“This is one of the oldest and most resistant tree diseases in the country,” said John Jordan, director of Landscape Management at the Alliance. Carried by beetles, Dutch elm disease is a fungus that enters the soft tissue beneath the bark. It blocks nutrients from circulating through the tree, eventually resulting in the tree’s decline. Dutch elm disease can overcome a tree in a single growing season. Prevention requires diligent monitoring to catch the symptoms before they claim the life of the elm.

Early detection is critical. The Alliance’s Landscape Management crew looks for the premature browning of the leaves, which eventually spreads throughout the branches. When symptoms are spotted, Alliance arborists attempt to prune infected wood before the disease can reach the tree’s root system, and in some cases, an anti-fungal agent is applied. Unfortunately, Dutch elm disease is often a losing battle. For those beyond healing, the Alliance works with the New York City Parks Department to properly remove the infected trees, which are then replaced with new plantings.

Love the Park and its 30,000 trees? Learn more about the Park’s commemorative tree program and how you can help support their ongoing care.