Author: Cornershop

Construction Update: East Drive

June 23, 2014

The reconstruction of the Park Drive at the new LeFrak Center at Lakeside represents the final phase of Lakeside, the restoration of the southeast corner of Prospect Park. The reconstruction will improve pedestrian access to Lakeside, and reduce vehicular traffic on East Drive.

As part of Lakeside, a former parking lot was transformed into nearly an acre of new parkland. In order to accommodate vehicles during the ice skating season at the LeFrak Center, the road reconstruction project converts an existing paved area on Breeze Hill, which was historically a carriage concourse, into a parking area. The new lot is significantly smaller than the former lot, and retains the footprint of the existing paving, with the lawn restored. Vehicles will only have access to the lot during the winter ice skating season, which runs from mid-to-late October to mid-to-late March, and only during operating hours.

In addition, the road reconstruction project adds new plantings to the landscape, such as Red Twig Dogwood, Winterberry and Grey Goldenrod, and creates a vehicular entrance to the new parking lot from Lincoln Road, which eliminates vehicular traffic along the East Drive (the former lot was accessed from the Parkside Avenue entrance, which required travel along the Park Drive). As an added bonus, the project will alleviate flooding issues along the Drive by adding new leaching basins across from Lincoln Road.

The project is scheduled to be completed at the end of July.

c. Martin Seck

Summer Checklist

June 2, 2014

On your mark, set, go! Summer is here and there has never been a better time to take advantage of all that Prospect Park has to offer. Here is a list of some of our favorite activities. How many will you check off?

Share your Prospect Park adventures this summer with us on Facebook or tag us at #prospectparksummer.

Pop-Up Audubon: The Prospect Park Alliance’s free outdoor nature programs are a huge hit. This summer, Pop-Up Audubon is twice as fun with a second location in the Park. Families can enjoy catch-and-release fishing and even make their own bait. Be sure to check out the schedule to find the tent locations.

Summers at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside: If you thought ice skating at the Park’s newest destination was not to be missed, then return this summer for roller skating and water play.

Ezra Jack Keats Storytelling Hour: Who doesn’t love a good story? Take part in a cherished Prospect Park tradition at Imagination Playground, where master storyteller Tammy Hall transports children to a world of wonder. Saturdays at 2 p.m., starting July 6.

New York Philharmonic in the Park: It is difficult to enhance the pastoral beauty of Prospect Park. If one were to try, it would probably include the New York Philharmonic and a gorgeous sunset on the Long Meadow. This free event is a must for any music lover, and takes place on Wednesday, July 9.

Bat Tours: These members-only events are one of the most popular walking tours in Prospect Park. Take a stroll with nature expert Paul Kaim as he leads you through the Long Meadow in search of the Park’s nightlife. Not a member yet? Join today and take the tour.

Food Truck Rally: On the first and third Sunday of every month, come to Grand Army Plaza to enjoy treats from some of the best food trucks in the city. From gourmet ice cream sandwiches, to lobster rolls and kimchi tacos, there is something for everyone, and something different each time at the Food Truck Rally.

Celebrate Brooklyn!: Besides picnics and barbecues, this performing arts festival is one of the ultimate summertime activities in the Park. This year, we challenge you to try something new, whether a silent film screening, salsa music or electronica. And don’t forget the popular Ezra Jack Keats Family Concert, this year taking place on Saturday, June 14 and featuring Ozomatli’s Ozokidz. 

c. Ryan Muir

Celebrate Brooklyn! Kicks off 2014 Season

Since its start in 1979, Celebrate Brooklyn! has been a cherished tradition in Prospect Park, drawing tens of thousands to the Bandshell every summer. This year is shaping up to be another great season, with a mix of salsa, film, dance, hip-hop, reggae, jazz, rock and folk, and family performances.

Among this year’s highlights are an opening concert by R&B-soul-pop sensation Janelle Monae (June 4), a tribute to jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman (June 12), reunited bluegrass superstars Nickel Creek (July 24), the groundbreaking Dance Theatre of Harlem returning to the world stage after a nine-year hiatus (July 31), and the otherworldly St. Vincent (August 9).

As New York’s longest running, free performing arts festival, Celebrate Brooklyn! has played an important role in Prospect Park. By bringing music to the Bandshell, Celebrate Brooklyn! strengthened community support for the revitalization of Prospect Park. The Alliance embraced this spirit upon its founding in 1987, partnering with the City to spearhead the restoration and long-term stewardship of Prospect Park.

Check out the complete line up for the 2014 season, and share with us your plans for enjoying the festival on our Facebook page or with the hashtag #ProspectPark.

From the Archives: The Vale of Cashmere

The story of the Vale of Cashmere, which occupies the northeast corner of the Park, actually started about 17,000 years ago when a buried chunk of the Wisconsin glacier began to melt, collapsing the soil and leaving a divot surrounded by steep walls of earth.

Park designers Olmsted and Vaux were attracted to the dramatic terrain. They designed a small pool and gardens, and outfitted the space with parallel bars, swings and a seesaw. Children sailed miniature boats and played in the underbrush while their parents escaped the summer’s heat in the Rustic Arbor on the hillside above.

In the 1890s, the firm of McKim, Mead and White, recently hired to design the nearby Grand Army Plaza, were asked to redesign the Children’s Playground. They replaced the pool’s soft edge with a granite balustrade in the Beaux-Arts style and installed a fountain. The wife of Brooklyn Mayor Alfred Chapin nicknamed the area the “Vale of Cashmere,” inspired by the Thomas Moore poem “Lalla Roohk, an Oriental Romance.”

The Vale eventually lost its sweeping views of the surrounding landscape to maturing trees and overgrown shrubs. Today, the Vale is on the list of projects that the Prospect Park Alliance hopes to tackle in the coming years. The creation of the Zucker Natural Exploration Area was a first step in this process.

Learn how you can help support the Alliance’s work to restore and maintain Prospect Park. Help take care of the Vale by volunteering with the Alliance’s East Side Revival.

PPA Profiles: Lawrence A. Timberlake

Have you had a sense of déjà vu when watching a favorite film or television show? You might have seen a familiar landscape in Prospect Park. The Park has been featured in a number of productions and photo shoots, from Essence magazine to the films Julie and Julia, Date Night, and It’s Complicated, and the television shows Boardwalk Empire, The Americans, and even Sesame Street. These activities need to be carefully coordinated to minimize their impact on the Park and its visitors, which falls to Deputy Director of Special Events Lawrence A. Timberlake.

An NYC Parks employee, Timberlake started in the Special Events office at Prospect Park over seven years ago, and has steadily worked his way up to his current position overseeing film, television and photo shoots, as well as festivals and large-scale events, such as the popular New York Philharmonic in the Park (this year taking place July 9) and past events such as Tropfest. When it comes to photo, film and television productions, Lawrence explained that Prospect Park is a favorite because of its natural beauty and the ease of working on location here. “These types of activities,” he explained, “bring in important revenue that goes toward the continuous upkeep of the Park.”

Lawrence has seen a number of celebrities and blockbuster film projects in Prospect Park, but which one was his favorite? Without hesitation, he answered, “The Smurfs, because it was a childhood favorite.”

Coordinating productions in Prospect Park can be a serious undertaking, but facilitating large-scale events can be a monumental task. One of Lawrence’s favorite events is film icon and Brooklyn native Spike Lee’s annual Michael Jackson Birthday Celebration. It is an extremely popular event, with thousands of people gathering at the Nethermead. One year, Lawrence accompanied the legendary rapper Snoop Dogg to the event, along with fellow performer Warren G. Before the duo stepped out of the vehicle, they admired the crowd and bestowed Prospect Park with one of its highest compliments: “This is real Brooklyn Luv.”

c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

500 for the Park a Success

May 1, 2014

We did it! Over 600 donors contributed to 500 for the Park, helping the Prospect Park Alliance earn a $25,000 challenge grant from Lorraine and Gordon DiPaolo. After our donors smashed through the original 500-donor goal, our board of directors stepped in and offered an extra $20 per gift for every donation made above the original 500.

Together, we raised a total of $61,670 for Prospect Park!

These funds will help the Alliance in its important work to preserve and maintain Prospect Park. Working in partnership with the City of New York, the Alliance is responsible for the operation and long-term stewardship of Prospect Park, and funds a significant portion of the budget that keeps Prospect Park clean, safe and beautiful.

c. Martin Seck

Summer Water Play at the LeFrak Center

The spring/summer season at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside is nearly in full swing. For the past month, this new, year-round Park destination has brought roller skating back to Brooklyn. Thousands have come out to take a few laps around the covered rink and rediscover the sport.

Starting this Memorial Day, the LeFrak Center at Lakeside will transform its uncovered rink into the Park’s largest water play area for children. Free to the public, the water feature includes 41 jets that form clear streams of water that dance across the surface, so children can play while keeping cool on a hot summer day. At night, the fountains will be lit up for a spectacular display.

Meanwhile at the 16,000-square-foot, covered roller-skating rink, the LeFrak Center is offering a range of activities for those new to the sport, and those with a passion for this pastime. Among the planned offerings are learn-to-skate and roller-hockey programs for youth and adults, and a roller derby program with the Gotham Girls, New York City’s only all-female, DIY roller derby league.

At the Center’s Bluestone Café, visitors can enjoy sweet and savory treats, like Lake Sliders, Fried Apple Pie and Wonton Mahi Mahi Tacos, while taking in the action.

Party for the Park

Join the Prospect Park Alliance on Wednesday, June 11, as we celebrate everyone’s favorite Park with music and cocktails under the stars at the Party for the Park. Taking place at the historic Boathouse, one of the Park’s most scenic destinations, this event benefits the Alliance’s work to preserve and maintain Prospect Park.

The evening kicks off with a special pre-party, the Lullwater Lounge, featuring live music by the Smoke Rings and tasting menus prepared by local Brooklyn chefs to pair with Brooklyn Brewery craft beers and specialty cocktails. The main party then gets underway with music and dancing with DJs AndrewAndrew, artisanal sweets by Brooklyn bakers, and a silent auction.

Every ticket helps support the care and maintenance of Prospect Park. It takes millions of dollars each year to keep Prospect Park looking spectacular. The health of the Park depends on the arborists, gardeners, groundskeepers, ecologists and educators that the Alliance, working in partnership with the City, funds through the generous support of its donors.

The first 100 tickets to Party for the Park are $100. After that, tickets to the Party are $125. The VIP Lullwater Lounge Pre-Party tickets are $500 and include dinner, drinks, and live entertainment. Don’t miss one of the most festive nights in Brooklyn!

Share the party on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #partyforthepark.

PPA Profiles: Franklyn Sookram

There are few people in Brooklyn who know more about the flora of Prospect Park than Franklyn Sookram, NYC Parks Horticulture Crew Chief, who retires this month. Over the past three decades, he and his crew have planted many of the shrubs, flowers and trees in the Park that have shaped the landscapes. He can assess flat and sloping grade of a lawn with laser-like precision and knows many of the trees personally. “I can recall the year and season most of these trees were planted. Everything that grows in Prospect Park has a story.”

Originally from Grenada, Franklyn moved to Brooklyn in 1976. He was a horticulturalist at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for many years before coming to Prospect Park in 1985, just two years before the Alliance was founded. He supervises a crew of Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks horticulturalists and maintenance workers, reflecting the partnership that makes Prospect Park so great. Most people know that groundskeepers are essential to the Park, but few people know what a horticulturalist actually does. Obviously they plant, water and prune, but in Prospect Park they also install fencing, repair trails, mulch, fertilize, deliver supplies, propagate native plants and remove invasive species.

We asked Franklyn if he had any words of wisdom for future horticulturalists and the general public. His answer was simple: upkeep. Prospect Park features hundreds of acres of landscaping that require year-round care. In the plant world, the health of the plants and trees need expert supervision. A lack of resources can spread the work thin, resulting in erosion, brittle branches and failing root systems. This is usually exacerbated by the damage of a powerful storm.

“Franklyn not only brought a set of highly skilled hands and eyes, he also brought a genuine and infectious sense of dedication that, by his example, his crews have always shared,” said Christian Zimmerman, Vice President of Capital and Landscape Management at the Alliance. “As Franklyn prepares to retire, he reminds us of the importance of the long-term care of Prospect Park. We will do our best to maintain the enormous impact he’s had on the Park.”

Celebrate Spring at the Prospect Park Fair

April 1, 2014

On Saturday, April 26, join the Prospect Park Alliance in welcoming spring at the second annual Prospect Park Fair. Located at the Bandshell, the Fair is a free, fun-filled day of games, food and entertainment.

This year’s Fair features a performance from Brooklyn’s own Uncle Majic “the Hip Hop Magician,” and music and games presented by DJ Steve Papa. Children can also enjoy face painting and a special guest appearance by the Brooklyn Cyclones’ Sandy the Seagull.

The Alliance presents some of its most popular activities, including Pop-Up Audubon nature programs, 19th-century lawn games from Lefferts Historic House, and a mini-net for tennis play with the Prospect Park Tennis Center. Make certain to stop by the Alliance booth for information on the latest news and upcoming events in the Park.

The Fair also showcases the goods and services of Alliance business members, whose annual contribution helps to support the Park. Business members will provide games, contests, live demonstrations and prizes. This also includes a sampling of cuisines from food trucks presented by the New York Food Truck Association, which also runs the Food Truck Rally with the Alliance.