2024 Year in Review
2024 was a milestone year in Prospect Park, with unprecedented challenges, such as the severe drought and resulting fire in our beloved woodlands, and also great accomplishments, such as our new strategic plan, A Thriving Park for a Thriving Brooklyn, to guide our work over the next five years. Now more than ever we need spaces where people can come together, and we are heartened by how much our community has stood by us in moments of crisis and celebration.
Check out our 2024 Year in Review to view all that your support makes possible.
Sustaining the Park
In 2024, 2,352 volunteers sustained our park, volunteering 14,880 hours of service. Their accomplishments include removing 1,259 bags of litter, planting 6,375 native plants, and supporting the third annual City of Forest Day. The Alliance also launched our Summer Circuit series to engage teens, and a Sunset Series for evening volunteer opportunities.
Through Re:New Prospect Park, the Alliance dedicated private funding for work traditionally undertaken by the City. We improved drainage at sites across the park including the 10th Avenue Lawn, restored paths near Harmony Playground and more. We supplemented the City’s trash management through a partnership with ACE New York, which provided additional cleaning crews in peak months. Our community also helped Prospect Park thrive by pledging to Be a Park Champion: carrying out litter, keeping dogs on leash and staying on paths.
Caring for Brooklyn Nature
Always innovative with ways to help our ecosystem thrive, the Alliance implemented new strategies to help sustain our 350 acres of natural areas and 30,000+ trees, including boosting the immunity of our trees from pests and viruses; deploying downed branches and other plant materials to enrich the soil in our woodlands; and planting 16,691 native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants of 107 different native species to sustain our park.
The Alliance empowered future leaders while caring for our park through the Woodlands Youth Crew, a team of teens who worked in 16 acres of our forest, clearing invasive species and planting 3,000 native plants. The Alliance also expanded our EcoZone Volunteer Crew program, where committed volunteers worked alongside our Landscape Management team to care for the park’s forest, meadows and waterways.
Advancing the Park
This year the Alliance embarked on many improvements to enhance the park visitor experience. We completed robust community visioning to inform the Shirley Chisholm Welcome Center design, produced the Lakeshore Master Plan to transform Brooklyn’s only lake to improve its environmental resiliency, wildlife habitat and visitor experience.
The Alliance cut the ribbon on the Harmony Adult Fitness Area including new equipment that is accessible for all abilities. We completed the restoration of the Grand Army Plaza and Berms, with the iconic Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch making significant progress. Restored paths welcomed our community at the Garfield Entrance and Long Meadow between the Endale and Meadowport Arches. New bubbles were installed at the Tennis Center, and the Alliance brought the new, sustainable Purslane Cafe to the scenic Prospect Park Boathouse.
Engaging the Community
As part of our ReImagine Lefferts initiative, the Alliance welcomed our first ReImagine Lefferts Artist in Residence, Adama Delphine Fawundu, whose installation Ancestral Whispers honored legacies of those enslaved at Lefferts, and also unveiled a new interpretive plan for the museum. Additional arts highlights included Park of Dreams at Grand Army Plaza, and dynamic performances with The Public Theater and Moliere in the Park.
The Alliance furthered our commitment to our community through a range of wellness partnerships, including Open Air Care Connections, a community health outreach initiative; and hosted both a NewYork-Presbyterian mobile medical unit, which addresses sexual health disparities and a Department of Education Summer Meals truck, which served 15,000 meals to youth. We offered wellness programs including yoga, meditation, walks for older adults, caregivers and more. Alliance nature programs served 35,000 community members, many led by our Park Youth Representatives.
We thank you for your support this year and invite you to make a resolution to stay involved in the coming year—make a donation to the Alliance, volunteer in the park or join an upcoming event. There are many ways to make a difference in your park.