Get to Know the New Carousel Manager
April 2, 2024
Have you met the friendly new face at Prospect Park’s beloved Carousel? Longtime Brooklynite, David Rabig, is Prospect Park Alliance’s new Carousel Manager. The Carousel season has kicked off and park goers can stop by the historic park destination from 12 – 5 pm on Thursdays – Sundays to take a spin and say hello to David. As the season kicks off, get to know David and hear about his passion for the power of imagination and excitement for the season ahead.
With a lifelong passion for hospitality, imagination and working with kids, David has lived near Prospect Park for many years and wondered if there was a place for him in the park and what that might look like. “When I saw the Carousel Manager job description–it hit so many points that I felt were really well suited for me and merged my experiences working with kids, maintenance handiwork and hospitality. I’m just so thrilled to be a part of it.”
Previously, David worked at a theater education company called Child’s Play New York which hosts afterschool programs for elementary school aged kids. In his search for this role, David shares, “It’s important to me to be in a role where I can be around kids and embrace imaginative play, laughter and joy.”
David shares his awe in the craftsmanship behind the carousel “It’s remarkable just how unbelievably solid it is. It reminds me a lot of The Cyclone on Coney Island, which works incredibly well and is really cool since it’s been around for more than 100 years.” The Carousel’s unique and storied carving style is also a highlight, “I feel like the horses may look a little scary at first and then you start looking at more details and they become more beautiful the more you look at them. The Coney Island style that the Carousel’s artist, Charles Carmel, used shows the horses in-action huffing and puffing and bearing their teeth in a really unique way.”
In the season ahead, David most looks forward to crafting an environment where kids are smiling and laughing. “Kids show up waiting at the gate for the Carousel to open and the wonder that you see in their eyes is just fantastic.” David says his main goal in the role is simple: to make everyone feel like they belong at the Carousel; that they are welcome there and that it’s a place for kids to be themselves. For the few minutes that the ride is on, David hopes that kids can feel like that’s their horse, and can experience the feeling of excitement and specialness that comes with that.
