c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

Re:New Prospect Park

May 19, 2021

Prospect Park is the place to be for our community—which is why Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains Brooklyn’s Backyard, has launched Re:New Prospect Park: new stewardship efforts to help serve our community and meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Due to the pandemic, both Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks lost critical funding, which resulted in a reduced workforce and resources. This combined with an increase in park visitors led to the park getting much more love than it can handle. However, thanks to the support of our community of donors and volunteers over the past year, the park has been able to weather the storm, and the Alliance is placing much-needed funds to renew the park in time for our busiest season.

“We know how important the park is to our community and the role is serves in recovering from the challenges of the past year,” said Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue. “Prospect Park is showing serious signs of wear and tear, and without our normal workforce, we are so grateful for our community, who over the past year has pitched in to help sustain this cherished green oasis.

Critical support  for this initiative is made possible through generous funding from Amazon, the Leon Levy Foundation, NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund in the New York Community Trust, NYC Green Relief + Recovery Fund, and many generous individuals and community members who made first-time or increased gifts to the Alliance during this challenging time.

Re:New Prospect Park Initiatives

Park Maintenance

Prospect Park Alliance has partnered with Ace New York, a non-profit that empowers the homeless, to provide additional maintenance resources to help clean the park on peak weekdays and weekend evenings through October. In addition, the Alliance has brought on board four seasonal groundskeepers to help supplement NYC Parks maintenance crews during this busiest time of year.

The crew is partially funded via a grant from Amazon. 

“Throughout the pandemic, Prospect Park has provided badly needed, outdoor refuge to Brooklyn families,” said Carley Graham Garcia, Amazon’s New York Head of External Affairs. “Unfortunately, this has meant wear and tear on the park at the exact time resources are strained. By partnering with ACE, Prospect Park Alliance will create job opportunities, while ensuring this local gem remains a resource for our city and borough.”

“ACE is proud to partner with the Alliance to help keep Prospect Park clean and safe for all New Yorkers to enjoy. These jobs not only benefit our City by keeping the park beautiful, they also provide meaningful employment for men and women who have overcome histories of homelessness,” said ACE Executive Director James Martin.

To support these efforts, Prospect Park Alliance is encouraging park visitors to carry in and carry out their trash via promotional signage at all park entrances, the Alliance has also installed large trash receptacles in key areas of the park. View this map for large trash receptacle locations.

Park Improvements

The Alliance will also be re-investing back into the park by improving lawn areas, comfort stations, barbecue areas and even the park’s beloved Drummer’s Grove through funding from our community of donors. Work will take place this spring into early summer, and will include renovated restroom facilities at the Lincoln Road and Children’s Corner, new barbecue grills, fixtures and furnishings at the Picnic House and Bandshell barbecue areas, similar to the new grills installed at the Lincoln Road and Parkside + Ocean Avenue barbecue areas.

We also will be bringing on board an expanded “Fix-It” crew and volunteer services staff to help renew our lawn areas, repaint benches, fix broken fencing and give a deep clean to our rustic and historic structures.

Park Volunteer Opportunities 

Prospect Park Alliance has expanded its Volunteer Services staff to accommodate more volunteer opportunities in the park, including the return of our popular Green and Go Kit and It’s My Park Monday programs.

It’s My Park Mondays
Join us on Mondays for special It’s My Park Day community volunteer events, where groups and individuals can help us sustain the park during these challenging times.

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Green and Go Kits
Want to help keep the park clean and green? Register today to check out a Green and Go Kit, available weekends at various locations around the park. Kits include a trash grabber, garbage bags and gloves. You must be 18 years old to check out a kit, but children are welcome to accompany adults.

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Re:New Volunteer Corps
This spring, Prospect Park Alliance is launching a new volunteer opportunity to help us renew the park following the incredible wear and tear of the past year. The Re:New Volunteer Corps will meet weekly in the park and work on improvement projects from filling divots and reseeding holes in the park’s lawn areas, sweeping paths, and painting benches, railings and storage containers.

Register as a volunteer to receive an invitation to the Re:New Corps, which will launch in June.

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Help us to continue to sustain the park during these challenging times, while enjoying great benefits to enhance your enjoyment of the park.

Become a Prospect Park Alliance member today!

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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.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About ACE

ACE was founded in 1992 and provides job-readiness training, work experience, all around support, and much more to New Yorkers who have histories of homelessness, incarceration and addition. At ACE, men and women overcome barriers through hard work to reach their goals of full-time employment, economic self-sufficiency, and family reunification. Over 3,000 men and women have secured full-time employment through ACE’s programs. Learn more at acenewyork.org.