Results tagged “prospectparkalliance”

A few days ago, Gowanus Lounge reported that Prospect Park is getting a $25 million skating facility with two rinks – one for hockey and one for recreational use. The plan was presented by Prospect Park Alliance President Tupper Thomas at a recent Park Slope Civil Council meeting.

Yesterday, there was a press conference to herald the formation of the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, which will help improve Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza for pedestrians. According to Transportation Alternatives, is coalition is "made up of civic associations such as the Park Slope Civic Council, the Prospect Heights Parents Association and the Eastern Parkway Cultural Row Association...cultural institutions such as the Prospect Park Alliance, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Heart of Brooklyn Cultural Partnership...advocacy organizations such as the Project for Public Spaces, Transportation Alternatives, and the Open Planning Project." Jan Gehl, an urban quality consultant from Denmark, will be "re-envisioning" the plaza, told NY1, "These great opportunities have completely been cut off in little islands where people, like Eskimos, have to jump from one ice floe to another. The middle here where you have fountains and other nice things, there are no one."

Who to believe? WCBS 2 reported last night that police are downplaying attacks in Prospect Park, after yesterday's Post story that "wolf packs" of teenagers were responsible for muggings in recent weeks. WCBS 2 did mention that parkgoers are aware of the attacks, but gets a statement from Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne: “Robberies in Prospect Park year to date remain flat,. Eight this year compared to eight in the same period last year." Hmm, weren't there nine robberies listed?

Saturday is Opening Day in Prospect Park and Gothamist is hoping we're wrong about the weather. The annual spring celebration kicks off with the Little League Parade at 10am, which starts at 7th Ave and Carroll Street and ends at the Bandshell. For the more civic minded New Yorker, an Opening Day Clean-Up is planned for 10am-2pm (meet at the Tennis House). For the nature minded, electric boat tours are being run from 12-4:30pm, with the first two being special bird-watching cruises. Of course, if you just want to have fun, there's nothing wrong with a nostalgic ride or two on the carousel (open from 12-5pm). Gothamist is morbidly curious about Spring Wash Day (1-4pm). You get the privilege of washing the Lefferts Historic House's 19th century reproduction clothing with only period tools (washboards, lye soap, water heated over a fire). Sounds like crazy hard, and kind of gross, work, but you do get lemonade when you're finished.

This is pretty awesome: Cobble Hill resident Jonathan Rosen is trying to organize a potentially Guinness world record-breaking snowball fight in Brooklyn. That would be some hot stuff. Rosen wants to break the Swiss record of 2,473 people engaged in snow-to-snow action, so he posted a listing on craigslist to "get the (snow)ball rolling." If you email him at brooklynsnowballfight(at)gmail.com, he'll keep in touch with logistics - clearly, there needs to be some good packing snow. And the Daily News says that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz as well as Prospect Park Alliance head Tupper Thomas support the winter combat; Markowitz said, "I support any event that brings Brooklynites from all walks of life together while putting Brooklyn in the Guinness book as home to the biggest cast of characters anywhere," while Thomas expressed some concern over the safety issues, but felt Prospect Park would be a great showcase. The Parks Department says that the permit will explain various liability issues, which makes Gothamist think that a proud, Brooklyn-based insurance company should step up and take the chance.

Tupper Thomas, President of the Prospect Park Alliance