When Christian Zimmerman came to the Prospect Park Alliance in 1990, Brooklyn’s Backyard looked a lot different than it does today. The Alliance had just been formed and, after decades of decline, the park’s historic structures and natural areas were in need of dedicated care and attention.

For 35 years, that’s how Zimmerman spent his days, moving up through the ranks at Prospect Park Alliance to lead an award-winning team of architects, landscape architects, horticulturalists, arborists, ecologists and more in an unprecedented and historic transformation of the park.

Zimmerman recently bid farewell in his role as Prospect Park Alliance’s Chief Landscape Architect and Vice President of Capital and Landscape Management. But his vision and legacy live on in the thriving landscape he stewarded for decades.

Many of the Park’s most treasured destinations owe much of their popularity to Zimmerman’s design vision. In the mid-1990s, he oversaw the restoration of the Ravine, Brooklyn’s last remaining upland forest and an area now beloved by visitors seeking solitude in the heart of the park. Zimmerman revived the Ravine’s network of waterfalls, ponds, streams and shoreline, bringing the park’s watercourse back to life. He also led the restoration of Lakeside, the 26 acres in the southeast corner of the park, which includes the LeFrak Center at Lakeside as well as the Shelby White Esplanade and Baier Music Island. This year-round destination on the shoreline of the Lake brought back Olmsted’s historic design while introducing a LEED-certified, AIA Honor Award winning facility for skating, boating, pickleball, water play and more.

LeFrak Center at Lakeside, which opened to the public in 2013 c. Michael Moran

And more of Zimmerman’s legacy is still on the horizon: the restoration of the Vale in the northeast corner of the park is breaking ground this spring, while the restoration of Lakeshore, the remaining stretches of the Lake’s shoreline, is in the final stages of the design process.

Originally from North Dakota, Zimmerman moved to New York City in 1988, and worked as a landscape designer for the NYC Parks Department before joining the recently-formed Alliance. Before his retirement, Zimmerman received numerous awards for his historic preservation and landscape design work, including being named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the recipient of The Olmsted Network’s 2024 Olmsted Stewardship Award.

But his greatest legacy is the imprint he’s left on the landscape. “I’ve gotten to spend my entire career bringing one beloved place back to life,” said Zimmerman. “Which I don’t take lightly.”

Zimmerman recently participated in a fireside chat with Mark Hough, the author of Design through Time: Evolving Landscapes, from Alcatraz to Prospect Park. Watch the event on the Prospect Park Alliance YouTube Channel!

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and NYC Parks, in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance, today announced the City’s plan to protect Brooklyn from flash flooding caused by climate change. The Adams administration has allocated $68 million to build Brooklyn’s first Bluebelt in Prospect Park and to continue restoring the park’s lakeshore. The Bluebelt will use nature-based solutions—enhancing the park’s lake and wetlands—to manage intense rainfall. With up to $50 million allocated from DEP for the Bluebelt, this investment complements the Alliance’s ongoing $20 million lakeshore restoration plan. Together, these initiatives will help protect Prospect Park, the Prospect Park Zoo, and surrounding neighborhoods from extreme weather events.

Conceptual Rendering of West Drive 

“Today’s announcement marks a major step forward in protecting Brooklyn from the growing threat of climate-driven flash flooding,” said Mayor Adams. “By investing up to $68 million to create Brooklyn’s first-ever Bluebelt at the iconic Prospect Park, we’re harnessing the power of nature-based solutions to strengthen the park’s lake and wetlands, and better manage intense rainfall. Working hand-in-hand with the Prospect Park Alliance, this project will safeguard Prospect Park, the Prospect Park Zoo, and the surrounding communities for generations to come. We are proud to make this investment in resilience, sustainability, and the future of Brooklyn.”

“By using Prospect Park to manage stormwater, we’re turning one of Brooklyn’s most cherished public spaces into a powerful tool for climate resilience,” said DEP Commissioner Aggarwala. “This project brings Brooklyn its first Bluebelt and demonstrates how restoring and enhancing the park’s natural drainage not only preserves its scenic waterways but also protects the surrounding neighborhood. Thanks to the partnership with NYC Parks and the Prospect Park Alliance, we are able to implement creative solutions that will benefit both the park and the community.”

“Our public parks are more than just beautiful places to take in the scenery — they are also natural infrastructure making our city more resilient. With this investment, we’re helping protect Prospect Park and the surrounding neighborhoods from flooding, which is critical as climate change leads to more extreme weather events,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa. “We look forward to working with our partners to bring an inventive Bluebelt system to Prospect Park, complementing the ongoing Lakeshore improvement project, and making ‘Brooklyn’s Backyard’ an integral part of New York City’s sustainable future.”

“Prospect Park plays an essential role in the health and well-being of our community, and through this Bluebelt initiative, it will play an even more important role in protecting our community from severe storms and flooding,” said Morgan Monaco, president, Prospect Park Alliance. “This project demonstrates the importance of our city parks and green spaces as a first line of defense against climate change and supports the work we are accomplishing through our Lakeshore restoration, which will greatly enhance Brooklyn’s only lake for the benefit of all our visitors.”

The Adams administration’s investment comes after a year-long study by DEP of flooding in the surrounding Brooklyn communities and how stormwater moves through Prospect Park during heavy rain. Together with NYC Parks and the Alliance, the nonprofit that operates the park in partnership with the city, DEP studied the park’s landscape and water systems to find ways to improve drainage. The study found that during intense storms, rainwater often rushes over the ground instead of flowing into the park’s 60-acre lake, leading to flash flooding. The 150-year-old lake also has limited capacity, which can cause it to overflow and strain the sewer system.

To address this, DEP is working with NYC Parks and the Alliance to enhance many original landscape design features, along with adding new ones to adapt for climate change. The improvements will include:

• Lowering Lake Levels Faster: Upgrading the lake’s drainage infrastructure to lower water levels in less than 36 hours, instead of three weeks — giving the park more capacity to handle large storms.
• Using Rain Gardens to Capture West Drive Floodwaters: A continuous stretch of planted rain gardens along West Drive will slow and filter rainwater and ultimately drain to the lake after a storm, instead of flooding homes and streets to the south.
• Reducing Flooding on Flatbush Avenue and Helping Protect the Zoo with a Restored Pond: A new pond north of the zoo, in the location of a historic pond that was later filled in, will collect rainwater off of Flatbush Avenue and help protect the zoo from future flash flooding events like the one that forced it to close after the record-breaking storm in September 2023.

DEP first pioneered the Bluebelt system in Staten Island, where it has proven successful at reducing flooding while also creating open green space communities and wildlife habitat. NYC Parks collaborates with DEP on Bluebelt designs in parks to integrate nature-based flood management that improves long-term resiliency and provides ecological, educational, and recreational benefits. Now, Brooklyn will benefit from the same approach. DEP has kicked off the design process with construction anticipated to start in 2029 and be completed in 2032.

Lakeshore Restoration Plan

The project complements Lakeshore — the current restoration of the shoreline of the lake — which the Alliance is undertaking through $20 million in funding, including $18 million from Mayor Adams and $2 million from the New York City Council. This project will reconstruct the shoreline of Brooklyn’s only lake to improve its environmental resiliency and enhance the visitor experience. The reconstructed shoreline will closely follow the historic design by park creators Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and includes new lighting, seating, and viewing areas, as well as green infrastructure for stormwater management, newly landscaped areas to enhance wildlife habitat, and improved ADA access to this important park destination. The project is an extension of the award-winning Lakeside restoration from 2010, which includes the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade with walkways and picnic areas featuring newly placed boulders, native trees, shrubs, and aquatic plants. Additionally, five acres of the lake were excavated to recreate Baier Music Island, which serves as a wildlife habitat.

About the Bluebelt System

Originally implemented by DEP on Staten Island, the Bluebelt program preserves natural drainage corridors, including streams, ponds, and wetlands, and revitalizes and enhances them to optimize their functions of conveying, storing, and filtering stormwater. Bluebelts have proven to be an excellent mechanism for reducing urban flooding, while creating a rich, natural environment for the local community. As New York City prepares for rising sea levels and heavier rains due to climate change, Bluebelts offer a natural and effective solution for stable and sound stormwater management. As detailed in PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, DEP is working to expand the Bluebelt system where feasible across the five boroughs. The agency currently manages 545 acres of Bluebelts and natural areas in the Bronx, Queens, and on Staten Island.

This announcement follows the Adams administration’s previous investment in combatting flooding in the Jewel Streets neighborhood in East New York, Brooklyn. The $146-million investment is addressing chronic flooding in the neighborhood and installing drainage infrastructure, such as storm sewers and catch basins, at four intersections in the north and south Jewel Streets. These investments have dramatically improved conditions, as the amount of time it takes water to drain at those intersections has plummeted from 60 days to just two days.

“With climate-change fueled superstorms becoming a regular occurrence we must invest in greater resilience now,” said New York State Assemblymember Robert Carroll. “I applaud DEP’s multi-pronged effort to mitigate flooding from the park. I know that many of my constituents will benefit tremendously.”

“Prospect Park is one of the most important green spaces for my district of Crown Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens, and Flatbush, and as flooding becomes a more prevalent issue for our neighborhoods, I am encouraged to see this investment in nature-based solutions that protect our communities from rising flood risks,” said New York State Assemblymember Brian Cunningham. “I appreciate the work of DEP, NYC Parks, and the Prospect Park Alliance for driving this plan forward. When we care for the park’s landscape and water systems, we safeguard the homes, streets, families, and vital small businesses surrounding it.”

“Brooklyn deserves a climate infrastructure that is as resilient and forward-thinking as the communities it protects,” said New York City Councilmember Shahana Hanif. “This investment in Prospect Park’s first-ever Bluebelt is a transformational step toward safeguarding Kensington, Prospect Park South, and Windsor Terrace from the devastating flash floods we’ve seen in recent years. By embracing nature-based solutions and restoring the heart of our borough’s most cherished green space, we’re not only preparing for extreme weather, we’re honoring our responsibility to build a greener, more climate-just future for every Brooklynite.”

“Building Brooklyn’s first-ever Bluebelt right here in Prospect Park embraces smart, nature-based solutions that will strengthen our resilience and protect our neighborhoods, from Ditmas Park and Kensington to Prospect Park South and Windsor Terrace,” said New York City Councilmember Rita Joseph. “This $50-million investment, paired with the $20 million lakeshore restoration efforts, represents a commitment to modernizing how we manage stormwater. As a staunch advocate for infrastructure investments that prioritize environmental justice, I am proud to see our city taking bold, forward-thinking action to meet the challenges of climate change head-on.”

“This is a culmination of over a decade of advocacy from Community Board 14 to the Department of Parks and Recreation, to the Department of Environmental Protection and to an array of local elected officials,” said Karl-Henry Cesar, chair, Brooklyn Community Board 14. “This is an exciting plan that promises ecological, environmental, and aesthetic improvements in Prospect Park while simultaneously resolving the long-endured flooding issues affecting our residents, businesses, and other public assets. We are gratified and enthusiastic and are standing by to offer the continued support of CB14.”

Prospect Park Alliance has announced that the Leon Levy Foundation has made a transformational $10 million gift to the Alliance to support its work to sustain, restore and advance Prospect Park and its 350 acres of natural areas, including Brooklyn’s last remaining upland forest and only lake. The Shelby White and Leon Levy Woodlands Endowment will endow four new Ecological Zone Gardeners in Prospect Park. Currently the Alliance has seven gardeners to care for the park’s 526 acres. The Shelby White Leon Levy Ecological Zone Gardeners will work in two key areas of the park, including the woodland Ravine and Lakeside, the 26 acres in the southeast corner of the park that surrounds a portion of the park’s 60-acre lake. 

Prospect Park Alliance Board Chair Iris Weinshall, Prospect Park Alliance President, Morgan Monaco,  Shelby White, Founding Trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council announce the Shelby White and Leon Levy Woodlands Endowment.

The gift was announced as the park nears the one-year anniversary of a devastating two-acre, two-alarm fire in the Ravine in November 2024. This fall, Alliance staff and volunteers will plant nearly 3,000 plants and shrubs to re-green this area, which had been completely decimated by the fire. These native woodland species include Pennsylvania Sedge, Wild Geranium, Woodland Phlox, Christmas Fern, American Witch Hazel, American Holly, Fragrant Sumac, Carolina Rose and Flowering Raspberry.

Prospect Park Alliance’s Ecological Zone Gardeners and volunteers planting nearly 3,000 new plants and shrubs to re-green the area of our woodland Ravine that was devastated by the November 2024 fire.

“Shelby is a Brooklyn hero: her support of the park and a range of Brooklyn cultural organizations has transformed our borough, and reflects her strong ethos of philanthropy to the causes she holds dear,” said Morgan Monaco, President, Prospect Park Alliance. “Through the Leon Levy Foundation we have been able to achieve so much, and this gift will ensure our care of Brooklyn Nature thrives for many years to come.

Shelby White, Founding Trustee of the Leon Levy Foundation, said, “Prospect Park was my childhood playground. We are delighted that this endowment gift will help ensure that generations of children will continue to experience the wonder and natural beauty of Brooklyn’s magnificent park.” 

“Our natural spaces provide New Yorkers with a place to escape the hustle of urban life and connect with nature and the great outdoors. Thanks to this additional funding, Prospect Park’s forest and lake will benefit from the care of more gardeners, keeping these places resilient and healthy for the benefit of all New Yorkers and the park’s natural ecosystems,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. “I’m grateful to our partners at the Prospect Park Alliance for their work helping us care for Brooklyn’s Backyard.”

“Prospect Park is one of our greatest public treasures, and I am proud to represent it in the State Senate. While my colleagues and I advocate for the Prospect Park Alliance in Albany, incredible partners like Shelby White and the Leon Levy Foundation stand tall as defenders and benefactors of our green spaces. We are so grateful to them for this transformational gift to our park and the communities that cherish it,” said State Senator Zellnor Myrie.

“This incredibly generous $10 million grant from the Leon Levy Foundation will help sustain and enhance the natural areas of Prospect Park. This grant will allow future generations to experience that “antidote” to the stresses of city life that was envisioned by Olmsted and Vaux,” said Assemblymember Robert Carroll.

“As a fan and nearby resident, Prospect Park’s forest needs protection and preservation so that all Brooklynites and visitors can benefit from the greenspace all year, every year,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. “As climate change continues to disrupt our city’s ecosystems, investing in the protection of Brooklyn’s only remaining forest is critical to preparing New York for a new reality of more frequent droughts and wildfires. In this era of climate crisis, true resiliency means building back stronger after events like the 2024 wildfire and ensuring our communities can be safe and enjoy the park for generations to come.”

“I’m so grateful to the Leon Levy Foundation for supporting the Prospect Park Alliance as they work to preserve the park’s ecosystems,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “For generations, Prospect Park has given Brooklynites a place to relax, gather, and connect with the incredible wildlife that thrives right here in our borough. With this generous gift, Brooklynites will be able to enjoy the park’s forest and lakeside for years to come.”

“Prospect Park is the heart of our borough, and today we’re celebrating an incredible investment in its future,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “The Shelby White and Leon Levy Endowment ensures that our woodlands, meadows, and lakesides will continue to thrive under the care of dedicated Ecological Zone Gardeners. After the loss we experienced in last year’s woodland fire, this commitment to restoration and stewardship is a powerful reminder of Brooklyn’s resilience and our shared responsibility to protect our natural spaces.”

This is the second transformational gift from the Leon Levy Foundation. In 2008, the foundation provided $10 million to renew the shoreline of the Lake to create the Shelby White and Leon Levy Esplanade and Chaim Baier Music Island at Lakeside. This project restored park creators Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux’s historic plan for the lake, and through extensive research, returned the lakeshore to its original design. The White Levy Esplanade features walkways and picnic areas, with newly placed boulders, native trees, shrubs and aquatic plants. In addition, five acres of the Lake were excavated to recreate Baier Music Island, which serves as a wildlife habitat. In 2007, the Foundation made its first grant to the Alliance to support the care of the park’s 30,000 trees. Through this funding, the Alliance was able to jumpstart its work in sustaining a healthy forest by pruning hundreds of trees across the park: work that had faced a critical backlog due to a lack of City funding. This financial support provided the seeding that has grown into the Alliance’s natural areas care program, which forms the backbone of the Alliance’s work in Prospect Park.