Engaging Communities
Prospect Park is a haven for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home—providing opportunities for relaxation and recreation that contribute to the health and wellbeing of its residents. Through our free and low-cost education, recreation and volunteer programs, Prospect Park Alliance serves more than 460,000 people annually.
The Alliance offers more than 800 education and public programs each year throughout the Park, which engage nearly 75,000 visitors. In collaboration with the National Audubon Society, the Alliance created the first urban Audubon Center in 2000, which offers programs that teach adults, youth and families about the Park’s biodiversity. In 2013, the Alliance launched Pop-Up Audubon, an innovative mobile education program that directly engages the public in areas throughout the Park through hands-on exhibits, self-guided tours and live animal demonstrations. In partnership with the Historic House Trust, the Alliance also operates Lefferts Historic House, an 18th-century Flatbush farmhouse and New York City landmark. The museum features a working garden, historic artifacts, and indoor and outdoor exhibits. Through hands-on experiences, cultural performances and imaginative play, visitors explore stories of resistance and resilience by the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking and Africans enslaved by the Lefferts and their relevance to diverse communities today.
Through our volunteer program, the Alliance engages more than 4,400 volunteers, including corporate, school and community groups, who provide nearly 22,500 hours of service each year. Volunteers provide a range of services that improve the Park, from horticulture activities to woodlands restoration, education programming and Park cleanups. The Alliance also organizes major volunteer initiatives, such as It’s My Park Day, and new initiatives that engage youth, such as the Junior Volunteer Corps.
The Alliance’s recreation programs serve more than 380,000 youth and adults each year. The new LeFrak Center at Lakeside offers year-round, free and low-cost programming for the community, including ice skating, roller skating and water play. The Parade Ground is a hub of activity for local athletes, featuring 40 acres of playing fields to accommodate basketball, soccer, baseball and football. As part of our commitment to better serving Brooklyn athletes and their families, the Alliance recently renovated the Parade Ground, and improvements are now underway at the Long Meadow Ballfields, which serve a number of leagues throughout Brooklyn. The Alliance also operates the Prospect Park Tennis Center, one of Brooklyn’s most popular facilities, which offers lessons, leagues and special programming for players of all ages.
