c. Martin Seck

Grand Army Plaza Arch Restoration Begins

May 3, 2023

Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that operates Prospect Park in partnership with the City, has begun work on the restoration of the iconic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza. The restoration is part of a larger project to restore Grand Army Plaza, the formal entrance to Prospect Park, and its surrounding berms, through $8.9 million in Mayoral funding.

“We are thrilled with the planned restoration of the historic arch at Grand Army Plaza, which has served as a Brooklyn icon and welcomed visitors to Prospect Park for more than 130 years,” said NYC Parks Commissioner, Sue Donoghue. “The first meaningful restoration work on the arch in decades, this project and will clean and repair the exterior, and add improved, energy-efficient lighting to better showcase the arch’s historic elements. The restored arch will serve as the perfect complement to the broader restoration of Grand Army Plaza.”

“The beloved Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza is a Brooklyn icon and an important gathering space for dialogue and protests that advance social justice. We are so grateful to the Mayor’s Office for providing the funding to make this project possible. Prospect Park Alliance is excited to restore this landmark in all its glory so it can serve as a welcoming beacon and essential civic space for our community for generations to come.” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President.

Prospect Park creators Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux designed Grand Army Plaza as the grand formal entrance of Prospect Park in 1867. In 1889, the plaza became the site of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch, which was dedicated in 1892 to commemorate those who fought with the Union troops during the Civil War. The arch was designed by John H. Duncan with sculptures by Frederick MacMonnies, two preeminent figures of their times. On top of the arch is a quadriga of Columbia, representing the United States, surrounded by two winged Victories who trumpet her arrival. Smaller sculptures mounted on pedestals depict soldiers and sailors.

The Arch was landmarked in 1975, when the structure was in severe disrepair, and in 1976 Columbia literally fell from her chariot. The City undertook a restoration of the Arch in 1977-79, with subsequent work in 1989 and the mid-1990s. In 1999, the Arch’s bronze statuary groupings were restored by the NYC Parks Monuments Conservation Program.

This restoration is the first since the mid-1990s, and includes replacing the arch’s roof; cleaning and repointing the brick and stone structure; repairing interior elements, including historic iron staircases that lead up to the roof; and improving the exterior lighting to better showcase the historic elements of the arch and its statuary while making the lighting more environmentally friendly by utilizing energy efficient technology.

Restoration of Grand Army Plaza, and the landscaped berms that frame the plaza on its east, west and north sides, began in Fall 2022. This work includes removing invasive plants, shrubs and trees that are in poor condition and adding native trees and shrubs that provide interest and color throughout the seasons. The Alliance will also replace the existing chain link fence with low, decorative steel fencing, and restore the broken bluestone and granite paving around Bailey Fountain and the John F. Kennedy Memorial so that it is ADA accessible.

Work on the Plaza and Berms is slated for completion in Fall 2023. The Arch restoration is expected to take 12 months, and reopen to the public in Spring 2024. During the period where the arch and plaza are simultaneously being restored (through Fall 2023), access will be curtailed at the Arch, and the public is requested to utilize the crosswalks and pedestrian pathways at Plaza Streets East and West.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s Capital Projects .

Must See Spring Bloom Destinations

April 4, 2023

Spring is here in Prospect Park, and Brooklyn’s Backyard is flourishing with flowering cherry blossoms, vibrant witch hazel, peach and white magnolias and more. To help you make the most of the season, we’ve compiled a guide of our top bloom destinations throughout the park, with both hidden treasures and classic favorites.

Mary Keehbauch, Deputy Director of Landscape Management at Prospect Park Alliance, shares how the team is taking in the change of season and planning for what the upcoming months will bring, more specifically in the park’s 250 acres of woodlands. “We are collectively taking this time to scout and be inspired by the returning forces of nature,” said Keehbauch. “As yellow trout lilies and wildflowers such as trillium push through the leaves and vines, our team will clear the way for blooms to come. We welcome park visitors to stroll the chip lined trails in our woodlands, and watch as the transformation begins, assisted by the April showers, extended hours of soil-warming sun, and our hardworking team supported by wonderful dedicated volunteers.” As you admire the blooms of Brooklyn’s Backyard, remember to leave petals, leaves and berries on trees and flowers. These are essential to the pollinators and wildlife that call Prospect Park home, and by making the most of spring from a safe distance, you’re helping our ecosystem thrive.

Spring blooms at Grand Army Plaza and vibrant hues of Carmen’s Garden in front of the Litchfield Villa. c. Martin Seck + Michael Silverstone

Grand Army Plaza

Grand Army Plaza is Prospect Park’s formal entrance, and features some of the park’s most impressive architecture, and ornamental flowers and trees. Among them, early-blooming cherry trees and daffodils are the first to arrive. April welcomes Eastern redbud and pink-flowering cherry trees that give way to the white Silverbells in May. As summer approaches, watch for the clustered flowers of the bottlebrush buckeye.

LeFrak Center at Lakeside

At Lakeside, the spring blooms attract park visitors and wildlife alike! Park goers who visit the greenroof at Lakeside in early spring will be able to catch the vibrant yellows, oranges and reds of Witch Hazel. As April advances, Lakeside receives a fresh coating of delicate white blossoms from the many Serviceberry, Chokeberry, Cherry laurels, and Foxglove Beardtongue that are buzzing with activity, as well as blooms of yellow from the Fragrant Sumac and Spicebush. Late spring brings with it a crescendo of flowering dogwoods and dewberries, and those with a keen eye might just spot a few of the subtle, deep purple blossoms of Lakeside’s paw paw trees!

Litchfield Villa

The historic Litchfield Villa is a well-known destination for flower lovers. In April, tulips and Juneberries electrify Carmen’s Garden, located directly in front of the pre-Civil War-era mansion, heralding the arrival of warm weather. In May, blossoming crabapple and hawthorn trees paint the landscape in pinks and whites, while perennial displays replace the fading tulips. Be sure to head around back to see cream-colored flowers of the Korean dogwood trees.

Magnolia trees in bloom along the Long Meadow in Brooklyn’s Backyard. c. Martin Seck

Long Meadow

Passing through the Meadowport or Endale Arch in mid-April, visitors are welcomed by the peach and white bouquet of magnolia and dogwood trees that line the Long Meadow’s north end. The warmer weather brings out lilacs, as well as the hanging flowers of the yellowwood tree. Later in the season, enjoy the view under the shade of a flowering linden tree, and take in the sweet scent of the oakleaf hydrangea near the Picnic House.

Flourishing woodland flowers in Prospect Park’s woodlands. c. Martin Seck.

Ravine

Those with an adventurous spirit should head across Binnen Bridge and past the Nethermead to the Park’s woodland Ravine. Look for spicebush with its clusters of yellow flowers and small red fruits that are rich in nutrients for small birds. Pond edges are home to chokeberry, and American elderberry, deciduous shrubs native to New York. These shrubs will later feature berries that attract a variety of wildlife, making them instrumental in the health and diversity of Prospect Park’s natural habitats. Watch for the rare and lively Pinxter azalea which will add a vibrant pop of color to the evergreening woodland areas.

Bartel-Pritchard Square

Prospect Park is home to a few dedicated pollinator gardens. In addition to Grand Army Plaza and Carmen’s Garden, Bartel-Pritchard Square features a variety of springtime blooms. The arching Carolina allspice with its unique maroon flowers that smell of strawberry anchor the native pollinator friendly beds, and it’s hard to miss the old-fashioned weigela, an ornamental shrub with beautiful trumpet-shaped lavender flowers.

Plan your visit to Prospect Park.

c. Paul Martinka

Play Ball! Alliance Restores Long Meadow Ballfields 2+3

March 31, 2023

Prospect Park Alliance President Morgan Monaco, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Comptroller Brad Lander, Borough Parks Commissioner Martin Maher and Prospect Park Baseball Association President Eddie Albert took part in a much-anticipated ribbon cutting: the official opening of the newly restored ballfields 2 and 3 on the Long Meadow in Prospect Park.

The fields were restored by Prospect Park Alliance through funding from Comptroller Brad Lander while serving as Council Member in District 39, and are the final two of seven ballfields on the Long Meadow that have been restored by the Alliance through funding from the City Council and Mayor. The restored fields are reseeded and have new clay infields and drainage to keep them in good playing condition. The restoration also included newly paved pathways, benches and drinking fountains, and dedicated clay storage bins and shaded dugouts.

The restoration of the final two Long Meadow Ballfields mark the conclusion of an important improvement to Brooklyn’s Backyard,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. “These fields are vital recreational amenities for all of Brooklyn, serving thousands of youth each year, and we are so grateful for the support of Brad Lander, our partners at NYC Parks and all our local elected officials whose support enables the Alliance to sustain Prospect Park for the millions of community members who live and play here.

“With the completion of the last two of the historic Long Meadow’s seven ballfields, Prospect Park is a home run for baseball players of all ages,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “I thank the Prospect Park Alliance for having the vision and leading the way on this needed project. Brooklyn’s Backyard is ready to play ball!”

“I’m excited to say ‘play ball’ once again on the newly restored Long Meadow Ballfields, thanks to the hard work of the Prospect Park Alliance. Investing in our parks and recreational spaces is a necessity for the health and well-being of our communities,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

“I’m so happy to see the Prospect Park ballfields open just in time for spring,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “Thanks to the funding for my predecessor, Comptroller Lander, our community will have fully renovated fields to enjoy this summer. I’m looking forward to visiting the park when it’s warmer and see teams playing on the new ballfields!”

“This was not simply renovation, it was smart renovation. By turning the diamonds into all clay infields with improved drainage, grooming the fields for play will be easier and more games will be played. By resizing the clay infields, all ages will have greater access to play. This is a perfect example of how great things can result from a partnership between dedicated public officials and the people they serve,” said Eddie Albert, President, Prospect Park Baseball Association.

Since the early years of Prospect Park, in the late 19th century, the Long Meadow has been a beloved destination for sports and play. Enjoyed first by croquet clubs, then for lawn tennis and today, America’s ultimate pastime: baseball. With increasing demand overwhelming the nearby Parade Ground fields, five baseball diamonds and space for football and soccer were constructed on this portion of the Long Meadow in 1959, with concrete and brick bleachers and surrounded by fencing, both of which interrupted views down the length of the meadow.

In 2011, Prospect Park Alliance created a new master plan to restore the fields in the Long Meadow. This ribbon cutting and the restoration of fields 2 and 3 marks the completion of the restoration of all seven of the Long Meadow ballfields and kicks-off right on time for the start of the Baseball season, where Brooklynites will enjoy all that the newly restored fields have to offer.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s Capital Projects.

c. Sam Hollenshead

Smorgasburg 2023 Returns with Slate of New Vendors

March 24, 2023

Everyone’s favorite outdoor food market is back in Prospect Park! Kicking off its 13th season on Sunday April 2, Smorgasburg Prospect Park is back on Breeze Hill every Sunday through October. Presented in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance, this year’s Smorgasburg Prospect Park features its largest-ever lineup with over 65 vendors.

This year’s new vendor slate may be the market’s strongest since its 2011 launch, with a depth and breadth of global cuisines on offer. Highlights include baklava ice-cream sandwiches from Iran-influenced Bibi Bakery, Trinbagonian oxtail nachos from Flatbush chef Osei Blackett, giant pans of authentic Valencian paella, Malaysian beef rendang, BBQ with a Trinidadian tilt, Portuguese piri piri chicken sandwiches with a Lebanese twist, hot-pepper sauce from Trinidad, longganisa ube sliders from the Philippines, and kalacremas and tuna tostadas honoring a Dominicana’s Black roots in Mexico. The full, mouth-watering lineup of new vendors coming to Prospect Park is below:

Arirang Hibachi Steakhouse The Bay Ridge institution of tableside Japanese dining morphs into a Smorgasburg stand with their trademark fried rice (sliced and diced with chef’s flare), fried ice cream, and crispy-rice sushi. Prepare to be entertained!

Bibi Bakery Lena Derisavifard reimagines Iranian flavors to create unique pastries, inspired by the Iranian women of her childhood. With her signature spiced-walnut and cardamom-rose baklava at the heart, Bibi is adding two showstoppers to the menu: three flavors of baklava ice-cream sandwiches and an Iranian saffron snow cone known as “Frozen Gold.”

Chop Chop Tea Proudly representing the Hakka community of China, Yonglin Cheng and her team strive to serve their native cuisine to New Yorkers with a range of unique teas—black tea with grapefruit, oolong with pineapple, lime, and goji berry, green tea with green apple and cucumber—as well as perfectly spiced beef meatballs.

Cocina Consuelo Harlem’s Karina Garcia is Dominican by birth but with her husband she developed Cocina Consuelo as an ode to provincial Mexican cooking. Her tuna tostadas are as authentic as they come, as are the tacos de jalapenos. But it’s the kalacremas—cream-filled bomboloni-style donuts—that will bring the party to the yard.

Common Meadows Creamery A family-owned plant-based creamery—coconut is their base of choice—launched recently in Kingston, NY, Common Meadows’ product is smooth as silk on the tongue and an ice dream on the palette. Their matcha and espresso gelati are knockouts (the mango sorbet too), and all their products feature local and/or thoughtful purveyors in their flavorings.

Everything Oxtail From helping his mother in the kitchen growing up in Trinidad to coming to the U.S. at age 20 to pursue his culinary career to creating menus at the James Beard House and Gracie Mansion, Osei Blackett is now chef/owner of “Ariapita,” “Chef Picky Events + Catering,” and “Picky Experience” pop-ups. His concept for Smorgasburg takes the rich beefy staple of his native Trinidad, braises it to tender perfection, and incorporates it into dishes with broad appeal like plantain-oxtail nachos and fried bake and oxtail.

Jase’s BBQ Rockaway’s Jase Franklyn learned the craft of barbecue from his mother in his native Tobago. After moving to the US, he launched Jase’s BBQ in 2018 and by 2019 his jerk pork and BBQ pigtails garnered Best Food Overall at the NYC Bacon and Beer Classic. His ribs, brisket, and chicken wings—mostly grilled/smoked onsite—feature a lilt of island spice in both his rubs and sauces.

Kalye Wayne Lopez recently opened Kalye (literally “street” in Tagalog) on Broome St. on the Lower East Side, and his modern Filipino stand follows on its heels, highlighting dishes such as their spice-rich longganisa sliders (on ube buns), vinegar-marinated chicken inasal wings, and vegetarian lumpia.

Keyks World Janice de Castro’s velvety sponge cakes (“keyks”) filled with cream-cheese buttercream are a riff on the classic Hostess junk food, only these are handmade to showcase the palette of her native Philippines, with ube, pandan, jackfruit and more.

Lemak Kitchen Kesh Dhami’s faithful, concise postcard to his native Malaysia expands beyond its tiny LIC ghost kitchen roots. Featuring flavor combos that are surprising and soothing, including chicken satay redolent with herbs and spices, beef rendang served on bao buns, and a sago pudding made with tapioca pearls and gula melaka (palm sugar)..

Maca’s by Nikky Far Rockaway’s Nicole (Nikky) Guerrero started making macarons (macas) during lockdown and quickly found an audience on social media. Her seasonal character creations—snowmen, gingerbread men, pumpkins, teddy bears, and on and on—come inendless flavors with bright colors, creative displays, and soft and crunchy textures.

Mikhuy Peruvian Restaurant Less than a year after mother-daughter team Steasy and Graciela opened Mikhuy on 4th Ave. in South Slope, they are bringing their hyperfocus on authentic ingredients and Peruvian street foods to Smorgasburg. Their classic ceviche is layered with tuna salad, golden-potato terrine, lime-marinated white fish, and toasted chulpe corn kernels.

Paella Party CT Larissa Hrabec and Alberto Salas have been crushing parties in Connecticut since 2021 with their land-and-sea and traditional Valencian paellas, prepared in the classic giant paella pans. Venezuelan native Alberto pours his iconic Manhattan kitchen training and heart and soul into rich, aromatic, exquisite paella that is a feast for all.

Patok By Rach Hanna “Rach” Abada slow-roasts whole pigs Filipino-style and serves the lechon belly meat sliced as a platter, sandwich, or chopped up as sisig or inside lumpia. The rich succulent pork is fall-off tender inside with crispy skin fit for a weekend indulgence.

Tang Hulu NYC The Northern Chinese rock sugar–coated fruit skewers known as tanghulu make their Smorgasburg arrival via Chef Ivy Chen, who trained at Daniel, Nobu, and Lincoln before winning second place at the US Pastry Junior Competition and then opening her cafe Xin Xing Desserts in Parkchester in The Bronx. Ivy and partner Sizhen dip starfruit, pink pineapple, and more in sugar that quickly solidifies, then cutely display them on Chupa Chups “trees.”

Tony’s Piri Piri Antony Nassif (aka Tony Bacon) tapped into his Lebanese heritage when he came up with the recipe for his bottled piri piri, the bright and versatile Portuguese hot sauce . Now he’s kicking it up a notch with perfectly balanced charcoal-grilled chicken piri piri sammies, as well as a maitake veggie version.

Uncle Yankey’s Peppa! Growing up in Trinidad, Kevon Heath looked to pepper sauce to spice up meals that were sometimes only rice, imprinting an indelible love for the condiment. Uncle Yankey’s robust tropical pepper sauces are warm with heat but not aggressively hot.Heath is highlighting his peppa by serving pineapple chow, a Trinidadian fruit dish that adds garlic, culantro, and chili-pepper heat to create a sweet-savory salad akin to Mexican mango with tajin powder or Thai green-papaya salad.

Unregular Pasta A viral social hit concocted in Unregular’s shoebox shop on 4th Ave. in the East Village last year, these fried-pasta concoctions conjure the classic street food pasta frittata with a twist. Handmade spaghetti cacio i pepe or alla vodka is molded into a brick shape, battered in corn-flake crust, and golden-fried into a crunchy/soft comfort food with a marinara dip.

To avoid waiting on lines, this year’s market visitors will be able to quickly order from any vendor on their phones using the ChowNow app—which many New York City restaurants (and vendors) prefer for its lower fees and vendor-first ethos. All vendor menus will be available on ChowNow, with quick pickup directly from each booth. The partnership also broadens accessibility and allows for less waiting and more eating.

Learn more about Smorgasburg and plan your visit.

Bond With Brooklyn Free Community Skate

February 9, 2023

Bond With Brooklyn – a Brooklyn-centric initiative for community building spearheaded by leading real estate developer TF Cornerstone – in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance and Lakeside Brooklyn, announced a free community skate event at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside in Prospect Park. On Saturday, March 18, from 1 – 9pm, guests of the Bond With Brooklyn ice skating event will enjoy free admission, rentals, hot chocolate and a photo booth.

Register in advance for tickets to this free event (please note that walk up guests will also be honored). Tickets for the event are first-come, first-serve and are rain or shine. Capacity is limited.

“We are excited to invite members of the Brooklyn community to enjoy a day of ice skating fun. The community driven initiative known as Bond With Brooklyn began in 2017 with the opening of our first Brooklyn rental, 33 Bond Street. As we continue to expand the portfolio within Brooklyn, as do our efforts through Bond With Brooklyn and the imminent opening of our newest Brooklyn rental, 595 Dean Street. It is our mission to integrate ourselves into the local community through programs and events that give back,” said Zoe Elghanayan of TF Cornerstone.

Lakeside is the largest and most ambitious project in Prospect Park since its creation nearly 150 years ago. Spanning 26 acres, the $74 million restoration by the Prospect Park Alliance transformed the southeast corner of the Park into a popular scenic and recreational destination. Lakeside offers year-round seasonal activities, dining, and special events. From ice skating to boats and bikes, guests and visitors of Lakeside enjoy indoor and outdoor seating set against a panoramic view of the two rinks and beautiful Prospect Park Lake, as well as a distinctive menu at the classic Bluestone Lakeside Cafe & Bar with a full spectrum of dining options.

“Community has always been at the heart of the Prospect Park Alliance, and we couldn’t think of a better partner to bring such a fun event to life for our neighbors than TF Cornerstone, through its Bond With Brooklyn initiative,” said Morgan Monaco, president of Prospect Park Alliance. “We look forward to new and familiar faces on March 18, and hope to host more of these fun events with Bond With Brooklyn in the near future.”

This spring, TFC will open 595 Dean Street in Prospect Heights, a mixed-use two-tower development designed by Handel Architects. Anchored by nearly 60,000 square feet of public park space designed by Matthews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA), as well as a state of the art Chelsea Piers Field House; 595 Dean Street will offer a total of 798 Studio, one- and two-bedroom rental units. Of the 798 rental units, 240 studio, one-, and two-bedroom units will be offered to middle income households through the housing lottery on NYC Housing Connect. The lottery for affordable units at 595 Dean Street will open to applications after the building’s opening this spring.

In celebration of TF Cornerstone’s support for developing and driving a more Brooklyn-centric focus across its portfolio; media, development progress and Brooklyn updates will be highlighted on the Instagram @BondWithBrooklyn.

To reserve tickets for the free event, please visit: www.prospectpark.org/community-skate

c. Prospect Park Alliance Archives/Bob Levine Collection

Black History Spotlight: Flatbush Connections

February 8, 2023

As we celebrate Black History Month, Prospect Park Alliance is engaging the public around ReImagine Lefferts, an initiative to re-envision the mission and programming of the Lefferts Historic House museum to further focus on the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rest upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family. The initiative recently received a prestigious Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation.

On Saturday, February 11, Prospect Park Alliance is hosting a ReImagine Lefferts Community Conversation to share ongoing research and seek public guidance and feedback to inform our planning. To date, we have identified 25 people enslaved by the Lefferts family at the house between 1776 and 1827, including a man named Isaac.

This research would not have been possible without the support of civic leaders in Flatbush and beyond, such as Shanna Sabio, co-founder of GrowHouse Community Design + Development Group and trustee of the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition, a Black-led, multiracial coalition that works to preserve the Flatbush African Burial Ground from further desecration. Sabio developed a walking tour of Flatbush that explores Isaac’s story. Sabio shared her insight on the many connections between Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts Initiative and the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition’s ongoing dedication to sharing the stories of the resistance and resilience of those enslaved in Brooklyn.

A 1905 postcard of the Lefferts Historic House in its original location on Flatbush Avenue before it was moved to Prospect Park in 1918. Photo courtesy of Prospect Park Archives/Bob Levine Collection.

“It’s fairly likely that people who were enslaved at the Lefferts Homestead also interred their loved ones at the Flatbush African Burial Ground,” shares Sabio. “Just as the Lefferts House is undergoing a revitalization and will become a site where people can learn about the complex and often painful history of Brooklyn, the Flatbush African Burial Ground should be a site of pilgrimage and remembrance.”

Isaac was sold by Jacob Bergen in Red Hook to John Lefferts for $250 in March of 1818. The high price suggests that Issac was extremely skilled and that Lefferts may have purchased Isaac to run his 250-acre farm in Flatbush. However, less than three months after his purchase, Isaac escaped enslavement along with his wife Betsey and her three sons Harry, Stephen, and Joshua, who were enslaved by the Martense family across the street from the Lefferts’ farm.

The Bill of Isaac’s Sale for $250 as documented between Jacob Bergen and John Lefferts.

[Isaac] Bill of Sale, Jacob Bergen and John Lefferts, March 10, 1818; Lefferts Family papers, ARC.145, Box 1, Folder 9; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Both ReImagine Lefferts and the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition seek to engage the public in a thoughtful dialogue about the legacy of enslavement and exploitation. On the necessity to share the stories of those enslaved on this land, Sabio says “Isaac’s story is a great example of the ways that enslaved people resisted their oppression. His labor, along with the labor of all those enslaved at the Lefferts House and throughout Flatbush, helped to cement the power and influence of their enslavers, and yet their stories are generally left untold. Unearthing, preserving, and sharing these important histories helps make sure that we learn the lessons of the past so we’re not doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes.”

The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition’s walking tours delve further into Isaac’s story and its profound significance. Learn more about the historic connections between the burial ground and the Flatbush community at the Coalition’s upcoming Community Day of Action and Remembrance on Saturday, February 25. Attendees will clean up the perimeter of the burial ground and have the chance to join the first walking tour of the year to learn more about the lives and stories of those enslaved in the area.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s work to re-envision the mission and programming at the Lefferts Historic House to recognize its role as a site of dispossession and enslavement.

c. Mary Keehbauch

Solar Innovations Take On Invasive Plants

February 7, 2023

Have you spotted plastic tarps in certain areas of the park and wondered why? Fear not–they’re not picnic remnants or litter left behind. The tarps are an eco-friendly approach to fighting invasive plants without the use of harmful chemicals. It’s just one of the many ways that Prospect Park Alliance’s Landscape Management team has deployed environmentally friendly and innovative approaches to keep the park’s natural areas green and vibrant; including the use of goats to clear invasive weeds, ladybugs to tackle a harmful insect infestation, and layers of cardboard and mulch to ward off opportunistic plants of concern.

This season, the team has been hard at work implementing a technique called solarization to help keep the park’s landscape healthy and resilient with strategically placed sheets of plastic.

Solarization at work at the Children’s Pool in the Northeast corner of Brooklyn’s Backyard. Photo courtesy of Mary Keehbauch.

The team charts out a customized approach based on the specific needs of each landscape. “The plastic color and thickness is determined by the location and the target plants. Is it sunny or shady? Upland or near the watercourse? Is it a small enough area that we will be successful with this method? How will it look or impact the experience of park users?” says Mary Keehbauch, Prospect Park Alliance’s Deputy Director of Landscape Management, on the meticulous planning behind this method. “Often, the invasive plants that are targeted would be nearly impossible to eradicate using traditional manual methods. Solarization is an opportunity to reclaim small target areas, causing less disturbance and, eventually, a lot less labor.”

Because of these shrub stumps’ location at the top of a steep slope, the team used solarization to avoid destabilizing the slope with digging. Photo courtesy of Mary Keehbauch.

At the onset, solarization is an intense labor of love and requires an area to either be completely cleared of all organic material, or in the case of the tall reeds near the lake, flattened with plywood. “Thankfully, we have very willing and devoted volunteers and staff that help prepare and install the appropriate type of plastic,” says Keehbauch. Thanks to the hard work of these staff and volunteers, native plants have been successfully reintroduced to the south Lakeshore area and parts of the Lullwater.

The solarization of a given area can span anywhere between two months to two or more years, and, while restoration will be ongoing, this technique has already helped slow the growth and minimize the presence of invasives in the park. Once an area is cleared or flattened, the team uses either black or white plastic to reap the benefits of solarization. Black plastic is used to block light and heat the roots of an invasive plant once it has been cut down, while clear plastic is used in areas of direct sunlight to stop the plant’s growth, heat up the soil to destroy the roots and rid the soil of any remaining seeds. The end result is soil that is ready to be planted with native, pollinator-friendly plants that will help Prospect Park’s ecosystem thrive.

The technique is currently underway in multiple areas in Brooklyn’s Backyard and is focused on suppressing Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis). All three of these invasive plants spread quickly and form dense clusters that can outcompete and eventually replace the park’s native plants. This work allows native plants to grow and thrive, which promotes the longevity of Prospect Park’s landscape and helps protect the habitat of the countless wildlife that call the park home.

Keep an eye out for the innovative ways Prospect Park Alliance works to tackle invasive plants throughout the park and learn more about how the Alliance is sustaining the environment.

2023 Winter Checklist

January 19, 2023

As we kick off 2023, enjoy all the fun that winter has to offer in Prospect Park! From sledding, skating, winter walks and more, we’ve put together 6 activities in a Prospect Park Winter Checklist for you to check off your list this season for a winter well-spent. Take a look and we’ll see you in the park.

1. Explore an Underground Soundwalk in Prospect Park

Gain a new perspective of your park this season! While winter may seem like a quiet time in Brooklyn’s Backyard, there is a bustling ecosystem of sound and movement happening just below the soil’s surface all year long! Beginning at a trailhead by Dog Beach, explore the deep resonant sounds of the insides of trees, the roots of plants, shifting soil, waterways and more through Nikki Lindt’s The Underground Sound Project.

2. Sledding in Brooklyn’s Backyard

Both through nature and by design, Prospect Park’s landscape is dotted with rolling hills, which makes it prime territory for winter sledding on a snowy winter day. When conditions are right, make sure to check out the top sledding destinations in Brooklyn’s Backyard. Tip: make sure to get there early, spots on the slopes of Prospect Park fill up early on snowy days, and don’t forget to #BeAParkChampion and carry any broken sledding materials with you out of the park!

3. Mid-Winter Recess at the Audubon Center

Get to know the plants and animals that call Brooklyn’s Backyard home in the winter with family friendly programming at the Prospect Park Audubon Center! Enjoy seasonal discovery stations and investigate pond samples at 12 pm, learn from the Alliance’s Naturalists about the animals in the Audubon Center’s collection, and set out on a winter wilderness walk at 3 pm and search for woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches and more.

4. Ice Skating at LeFrak Center at Lakeside

Prospect Park’s two open-air ice skating rinks are not to be missed this winter. Enjoy hours of winter fun gliding through Brooklyn’s Backyard, and even try your hand at hockey or brush-up on your skating technique at skate school. Plus, after your hours out on the ice, don’t forget to fuel-up with a treat from Bluestone Cafe.

5. Enjoy a Winter Walk

Prospect Park is scenic in all seasons, but wintertime provides a sense of serenity unlike all else. Enjoy the season in Brooklyn’s Backyard by exploring the many walking trails and stunning vistas in our urban oasis. Have a favorite winter walking route? Share it with us by tagging us in your winter walking photos @prospect_park!

6. Join a First Sunday Birdwatching Outing

Start your month off with some chirp and cheer and join the Brooklyn Bird Club and Prospect Park Alliance on the first Sunday of each month in search of the many bird species that visit and live in the park. Keep your eyes open for exciting winter species-sightings and learn about the different habitats in Prospect Park and why they are important for all types of birds. Please bring your own binoculars.

Completed your 2023 Prospect Park Winter Checklist? Check out more events in Prospect Park to make the most of the season.

c. Jordan Macy

Get to Know Morgan Monaco

January 18, 2023

Morgan Monaco, the new Prospect Park Alliance President and Park Administrator has a long history in the parks world and a storied record of leadership in support of her community. Most recently, Monaco served as Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative, a youth and community development nonprofit impacting the 6,500 residents of the Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest public housing development. Earlier in her career, Monaco served two tenures at the New Yor k City Department of Parks and Recreation, first as Director of the MillionTreesNYC Initiative and later as Director of Stewardship for Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources. Monaco began her career at StoryCorps, a national oral history project designed to build connections between people and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs.

Monaco currently lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn and her family is an avid user of Prospect Park. As she begins the new role and leads Brooklyn’s Backyard into its next chapter, we chatted with Monaco about her vision for the future of the park, favorite spots and more.

What are you most looking forward to as you begin your role?

I am most looking forward to learning more about everything the Prospect Park team, both NYC Parks and Alliance staff, does to maintain and sustain Brooklyn’s Backyard. There’s so much that goes on “behind the scenes” that may not be apparent to the average park visitor, and I’m excited to learn in-depth how the park operates throughout the year. I am also particularly excited about joining the team at this moment in time. There has never been more interest in and use of the park, and I’m excited to talk to our community about why Prospect Park is special for them, and how the park has taken on new meaning during the pandemic.

With a background in environmental sustainability and social justice, how do you think Prospect Park can be a both thought and action leader in these areas?

I think it’s important to start from a place of seeing sustainability and social justice as symbiotic. Sustainability is not just a luxury that gets added on top, but is deeply integrated into the work we do as a society to promote equity and social justice. I see access to open space as one of the core pillars, among others such as education, housing, health and safety, that help transition people from surviving to thriving.

Over the past two years in particular, we’ve seen how important the park has been for our health and wellbeing. I want to work with our talented team, as well as our community, to continue to lean into that and think about more opportunities for New Yorkers to access health services in the park. There is widespread evidence of the positive health impacts that come from being in nature, and I’m interested in building upon that to establish connections between our green space and access to health care and social services.

You’ve had a long history with parks and green space in the area. What does it mean to you to be returning to this field?

I’m incredibly honored to be coming back to the parks world, especially during this moment in time when New Yorkers have a renewed appreciation for the value of open spaces. I grew up in New York City’s parks and this work is incredibly personal for me.

Since leaving the parks world, I’ve had a kid, which has added a new dimension to how I use open space. As a parent, it’s so important for my son to grow up in Prospect Park and have a connection to nature as part of his experience growing up in New York City. I am also grateful for how much more awareness there is about climate change and the ways in which individual actions have an impact on our global environment. I look forward to being back in a community with people who inherently understand that core value and are committed to being part of the solution.

How do you define success for the Alliance?

I think success can be defined in small and big ways. As an organization, it’s important to me that we have clear organization-wide goals that everyone can feel a connection to and support from their vantage point. Those goals should be informed by individual goals for each area of focus in our work, such as maintaining a certain level of excellence for our forest restoration work, or reaching a certain number of young people through our environmental education programs.

At the end of the day, it is most important to me that we have a clear focus for the year and work toward reaching our goals. I see my role as helping to be a galvanizing force that holds all of the goals together and helps to chart out a new strategic plan for Prospect Park’s next chapter. I look forward to working with our team and with park users to develop our new strategic plan.

What is a favorite memory you’ve made in Prospect Park?

This is such a hard question! I’ve had so many important memories in Prospect Park that it’s hard to choose just one. I got engaged on the steps of the Picnic House, my son learned how to ride his scooter right by Vanderbilt Playground, we’ve made snow angels and snow people…so many amazing things happened in my life in Prospect Park. I would say there isn’t just one memory but rather decades of wonder and love for such a beautiful and sacred space.

c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

Mellon Grant Awarded to ReImagine Lefferts

Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains the park in partnership with the City, has received a prestigious $275,000 Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance its ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming at the park’s historic house museum to recognize its role as a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

The Alliance will engage the public around this initiative with a Community Conversation on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 1-4 pm, at the Prospect Park Boathouse.

Learn more and RSVP for this free event.

“ReImagine Lefferts is a critical initiative for the Alliance, and we are greatly appreciative of the Mellon Foundation for recognizing the importance of this work, and providing the funding to bring this project to fruition,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. “This project is an important step of many to help to heal deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past, and help anchor the narratives of those who have traditionally been silenced. The work we are undertaking at the museum would not be possible without those who came before us, and we look forward to partnering with and supporting the many civic leaders and organizations who have led the way in the Brooklyn community over the past many years.”

Lefferts Historic House is an 18th-century Flatbush farmhouse and New York City landmark, jointly operated by Prospect Park Alliance and the Historic House Trust. The farmhouse was originally located just blocks from the park (563 Flatbush Avenue near Maple Street) and moved in 1918 to its current site in the park’s Children’s Corner, home of the Prospect Park Zoo and Carousel. The museum features period rooms, indoor and outdoor exhibits, historic artifacts, historical object reproductions and working farm plots. Through hands-on experiences, cultural performances and imaginative play, visitors learn about the rich history of Brooklyn and also celebrate the diversity of our community today.

The Alliance is currently restoring the museum through $2.5 million in funding from the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council to make vital capital upgrades essential to maintaining this historic structure, which is more than 200 years old. The project has enabled the Alliance to replace the roof, restore the exterior of the building, and repair paths and drainage around the house.

When the museum reopens in mid-2023, the Alliance will present free pilot exhibits and programs that engage with the legacies of Indigenous dispossession and African enslavement in Brooklyn. By centering the interpretation on these foundational narratives, which are often underrepresented in the telling of American history, the Alliance seeks to create opportunities for civic engagement and open dialogues about contemporary issues around race and human rights.

The one-year, $275,000 Mellon grant will support the planning, development and execution of pilot exhibits and program materials for the museum’s new focus, and enable the Alliance to engage culture bearers, scholars, community leaders, educators, artists and museum professionals.

The grant builds upon work the Alliance has conducted over the past two years to research the history of enslavement at the Lefferts house and farm, develop partnerships with Indigenous groups, cultural and local history organizations, and pilot new programming on site. To date, the Alliance has identified the names of 25 people enslaved at the site between 1783 and 1827: some inherited, some born at the house, and some purchased by the Lefferts family. The Mellon Foundation’s support will enable the Alliance to further its research about the lives of these people and their descendants.

ReImagine Lefferts programming and partnerships to date include: the creation of Juneteenth Way, a partnership with NYC Parks; two exhibitions with the renowned photographer Jamel Shabazz and the non-profit Photoville; Writing the Land, a collaboration between poets and land trusts, that commissioned Black and Indigenous poets to produce work about Prospect Park; and other projects.

Learn more at prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts.

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. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas; restores the park’s buildings and landscapes; creates innovative park destinations; and provides free or low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs. Today, Prospect Park is an international model for the care of urban parks, and one of the premier green spaces in the United States. Learn more at prospectpark.org.

About the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

Author: Laura Robinson