Author: Cornershop

Prospect Park Alliance

Goats Return to Prospect Park!

May 16, 2017

Back for a second year, Prospect Park Alliance’s beloved herd of goats has returned to the Park as part of the Alliance’s woodland restoration efforts. “It is great to have the goats back to continue their important work,” said Mary Keehbauch, the foreperson of the Alliance’s Natural Resources Crew, which oversees woodland restoration in the Park.

Throughout the Park, storms like Hurricane Sandy felled or damaged over 500 trees, enabling invasive weeds to thrive and overtake the woodlands—harming this fragile ecosystem. In the Park’s northeast corner, where over 50 trees were damaged or destroyed, goats will be working alongside Prospect Park Alliance staff to restore the woodlands, continuing their work from last year. 

“Woodland restoration has always been an important focus for the Alliance,” said Sue Donoghue, Prospect Park Alliance President. “These goats provide an environmentally friendly approach to our larger efforts, and help us make the Park more resilient to future storms.”

Prospect Park Alliance received $727,970 in funding from the National Parks Service through the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Assistance Grant Program for Historic Properties, administered by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The grant not only funds woodland restoration, but historic preservation work in this landscape, known as the Vale of Cashmere. The Alliance also received an additional grant for work later this summer on Lookout Hill, for a total of $1.2 million in funding.

Goats are prodigious climbers and aren’t picky eaters: they have four stomachs and can consume 25 percent of their bodyweight in vegetation each day. They devour the weeds down to their roots, forcing the plants to use all their energy to grow new shoots, only to be eaten by the goats once again. The goats keep eating until the plants do not have enough energy to grow back at all. When their work is complete, Prospect Park Alliance will plant new native trees and shrubs—red and white oaks, spicebush and service berry—which will help bring back important habitat for birds and other wildlife

The goats, contained behind construction fencing, are provided by Green Goats, a goat farm in Rhinebeck, NY, that specializes in landscape restoration. Of the four-goat crew, only one is from last year’s herd—Max, a black pygmy goat. The other three—named Cinnamon, Swirl and Unicorn—are toggenburgs, a Swiss breed of goat known for their productivity.

Later in the summer, the herd will move to another woodland area of the Park, Lookout Hill, to help restore storm damage in this section of the Park. The goats will eat all the invasive weeds that have overtaken these areas, so that the Alliance can plant new native trees and plants to beautify the landscape and bolster natural habitat for birds and other wildlife, ensuring the Park is more resilient against future storms. 

 

Prospect Park Archives

Stuff You Missed in History Class: Prospect Park 150 Edition

April 17, 2017

In 2017, in conjunction with Prospect Park Alliance’s 150th Anniversary celebration, beloved podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class celebrated the park milestone with a two-part episode dedicated to all things Prospect Park. Over the course of the episodes, hosts Tracy V. Wilson and Holly Frey delved deep into the Park’s creation by Park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, the early years of the park and  its decline in the 1960s and 1970s, and the more recent renaissance led by Prospect Park Alliance.

From Stuff You Missed in History Class:
“Brooklyn’s massive public green space tells the historical story of its community. From an undeveloped tract of land, the space was developed to become an Olmsted and Vaux masterpiece. This year marks the park’s 150th anniversary, so we’re celebrating this piece of living history with a two-parter.”

Listen to Prospect Park, Part 1 

“In our second episode about Brooklyn’s 150-year-old public park, we interview three guests, each with a unique knowledge of the park’s history and its restoration in the last three decades. Many, many thanks to Charles Birnbaum, President and founder of The Cultural Landscape Foundation, Christian Zimmerman, Vice President Capital & Landscape Management at Prospect Park Alliance, and Tupper Thomas, former Prospect Park Administrator for speaking with us.”

Listen to Prospect Park, Part 2 

You can also listen to or download these podcasts at the iTunes Store. 

Record Volunteer Attendance at It’s My Park Day 2017

On May 20, 2017, dedicated Park-loving volunteers rolled up their sleeves for It’s My Park Day. In honor of Prospect Park’s 150th anniversary, Prospect Park Alliance and REI recruited over 100 dedicated Park-loving volunteers to help care for their favorite green space with brooms, shovels, rakes and trash grabbers. Efforts focused on Lookout Hill, where volunteers removed 46 bags of invasive weeds and cleaned up over 4,000 feet of trails. Volunteers of all ages as well as local community groups came out for this great day of service.

“People love getting involved,” says Marcia Williams, Volunteer Program Project Coordinator. “Volunteering in the Park teaches people to give back to the community, and they feel good about it!” In 2016, roughly 4,000 Prospect Park Alliance volunteers contributed nearly 20,000 hours of service in the Park. “This volunteer group makes a huge difference, and thanks to their efforts, Prospect Park has really changed a lot in the last three decades,” says Williams. “REI and the Prospect Park Alliance have long partnered on It’s My Park! Day because the event has proven to provide a meaningful opportunity for the local community to work together to maintain this Brooklyn gem of 585 acres,” says Mick Minard, a member of REI’s Outdoor Programs and Outreach Team. “REI and The REI Foundation have invested in organizations across the country that share our goal of creating, improving and sustaining access to inspiring outdoor places. REI and the Alliance share a commitment to ensuring access to open space, supporting connected communities, and promoting health and wellness by helping more people share more time outdoors.”

Ready to get outdoors and help Prospect Park? Prospect Park Alliance offers a variety of volunteer opportunities. Register online or call (718) 287-3400 for more information.

PPA Profiles 150: Steve Hindy, Co-Founder, Brooklyn Brewery

This year, as Prospect Park Alliance celebrates the 150th anniversary of Prospect Park, we’re bringing you stories from members of the community about the role the Park has played in their lives. Interested in contributing your own? Submit your story and have a chance to become part of Brooklyn history. Portrait by Virginia Freire. 

“The first time I came to New York City was in 1957. I was eight years old, and I came up with my mother and grandmother for the Billy Graham Crusades. My mom and grandma got saved seven nights in a row, and I fell asleep seven nights in a row. On that same trip, we went to the last Brooklyn Dodgers game at Ebbets Field. I was completely taken by New York and Brooklyn, and knew that someday I’d be back here, because I wanted to be part of this. So that’s what I did.”

To say that Steve Hindy has been a “part” of what is going on in Brooklyn is somewhat of an understatement. After spending his childhood in West Virginia, Ohio, and Seneca Falls, NY, Hindy became a journalist and settled in New York City, where he worked for the Associated Press (AP). “I got it into my head that I wanted to cover a war,” says Hindy, “so I studied Arabic and headed to Beirut.” Over the following years, Hindy served as the Middle East Correspondent for the AP. While overseas, he married Ellen Foote, his high school sweetheart, and the couple had two children, Lily and Sam. After six years, the family returned, settling on 8th street in Park Slope.

It was in this house that the Brooklyn Brewery got its start. “In the Middle East, I had met Americans living in Saudi Arabia where they have Islamic Law, meaning no alcohol, so they all made their own beer at home.” Spurred to try his hand at home brewing, Hindy began producing beer from his 8th street kitchen. Together with his partner (and downstairs neighbor) Tom Potter, they established Brooklyn Brewery, producing their first commercial beer in 1988.

As the Brewery grew and gained notoriety, Hindy was getting to be a part of his Park Slope community. Having visited Prospect Park in the 1970’s, Hindy’s early impression was that the space was, “kind of forbidding. People were afraid of the Park, and it wasn’t very heavily used.” Hindy was part of the local dog-owner community, and began visiting the Park with others in early morning, emboldened by the safety in numbers. On one of these visits in the early 1990’s, Hindy struck up a conversation with Tupper Thomas, who at the time was the Prospect Park Administrator, and founder of the Prospect Park Alliance. Hindy recalls telling Thomas about the fledgling brewery, “Tupper loved the idea, said ‘oh you have to join my board.’”

Since then, Hindy has served on the Alliance’s Board of Directors, helping to steer the organization during decades of monumental change in the Park, helping to oversee projects like the construction of the Tennis Center. “In the last two decades, the Alliance has become an extraordinarily effective organization, and more importantly, a desirable form of community service for people living in Brooklyn.”

Hindy and the Brooklyn Brewery have made another recent contribution to the Park, a new beer called Long Meadow Gold, created as an homage to Prospect Park in celebration of the 150th anniversary. “Long Meadow Gold is brewed with a new yeast that we’re experimenting with, and has a really bright, lively flavor,” says Hindy, comparing the democratic quality of the Park to a beer. “Beer is a wonderful inexpensive beverage, accessible the same way the Park is for the public and available to everyone. We’re really excited to be a part of the 150th anniversary.” Try Long Meadow Gold at Smorgasburg in Prospect Park.

In addition to the Brooklyn Brewery and Prospect Park Alliance, Hindy has made his mark in the city through his involvement with other community organizations including the Open Space Alliance for North Brooklyn and the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. Additionally, Hindy dedicates much of his time to working with Transportation Alternatives, the non-profit organization that advocates for better and safer bicycling, walking and public transit, and fewer cars. Hindy’s son, Sam Hindy, was killed in a bicycling accident in 2007. Ever since, Hindy has been a vocal proponent for pedestrian safety, supporting Vision Zero, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s action plan for ending traffic injuries and fatalities.

Hindy and his family moved to a house in Gowanus years ago, but they still find themselves back in Prospect Park.  “We used the park constantly when we lived up here, and we still use it all the time. We play in the Tennis Center and come to the Park to sit on a bench that is dedicated to our son. It’s on a hill where we used to have birthday parties for our kids, so that’s what we call Sam’s Hill.”  Looking around the Park on a recent spring morning, Hindy is reflective on the changes in the Park, “it’s amazing what’s happened here, and it’s been an honor to be part of the transformation.”

Smorgasburg Announces 2017 Vendors

March 31, 2017

The line up of vendors for Smorgasburg Prospect Park has been revealed. This beloved outdoor food market, which takes place every Sunday at Breeze Hill in Prospect Park from April through October. Presented in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance, this outdoor food market features a range of cuisines from around the world presented by 100 local and regional food vendors.

This year at Smorgasburg, we celebrate the 150th Annivesary of Prospect Park with a special Brooklyn Brewery 150th Anniversary commemorative beer, Long Meadow Gold. This crisp pale ale will be available at Smorgasburg, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Prospect Park Alliance in its mission to sustain, restore and advance the Park. 

The following are new vendors for 2017:

All City Deli: Native New Yorker and a veteran of Estela, Mission Chinese, and Roberta’s, Andrew Keith is set on creating the perfect New York deli offerings: “The Perfect Bacon Egg and Cheese,” Japanese egg salad with potato chips on milk bread—elevated with seasonal ingredients and fun twists.

Baked Cheese Haus:  Wisconsin artisanal cheesemakers serving melty, gooey Raclette sandwiches. The cheese is melted on a wheel and scraped across toasted baguette. Cheese up your Instagram feed.

Belmere Catering: Haitian dishes including “Haitian Freedom Soup,” made with pumpkin and veggies, plus, deep fried pork belly, and mushroom rice.

Burrito Juarez: Four friends from Ciudad Juarez have perfected their hometown burrito with handrolled fresh tortillas, delicious stew fillings, and no rice.

Buff Patty: Longtime Fort Greene patty shop joins the market with their namesake. Everything is made from from scratch, from dough to fillings.

Commissary Kitchen: Coming off of a three-year prison sentence, Albert Johnson (aka Prodigy from Mobb Deep) published a cookbook last year, Commissary Kitchen, with rules and recipes for prison cooking. He’s partnered with Eddie Huang’s Baohaus culinary team to serve dishes such as BBQ Chili Pie (served inside a Doritos bag, a la Frito Pie) at Smorgasburg.

Destination Dumplings: Two kids from Queens who make Chinese-style dumplings  with inventive fillings, such as the jerk chicken dumpling with pineapple salsa, a lamb gyro dumpling with yuzu tzatziki and others.  

Dulcinea Churros: Watch your churro get extruded, filled, and fried right in front of your face. Look out for churro ice cream sandwiches during the summer.

John’s Juice: Fresh juices made INSIDE the fruit skin/peel. Choose from orange, grapefruit, watermelon, or pineapple, and watch as it’s cored and blended to drink to order. Then turn heads with your cool OJ-filled orange.

Loata: Pecan sticky buns baked in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The dough is infused with orange, filled with minced nuts, and topped with toasted pecans and butterscotch.

Ministry of Kaapi: Traditionally brewed South Indian cold coffee. Take home a (gorgeous) bottle/decanter of decoction, their extra concentrated Indian coffee.

Mission Ceviche: Peruvian ceviche made with your choice of fresh seafood cured with leche de tigre served alongside corn, sweet potatoes, and more. Refreshing and light in the summer heat!

Monsieur Tartare: Paris natives and recent transplants prepare a bistro staple with locally sourced beef for extreme freshness, served on sliced baguette.

Okonomi: Japanese savory pancakes topped with pork–a former vendor from Smorgasburg Queens.

Roll Play Viet Noms: Fresh Vietnamese summer rolls with a crispy twist inside. Also try the Viet Namchos on shrimp chips!

Rutte’s Dutch Waffles: The famous Dutch stroopwafel freshly made on the spot so it’s soft and extra gooey.

Supasit Thai Kitchen: Two types of Thai sausage, curry puffs, and other northern Thai specialties.

The Westbury Inn: Caribbean staples, including bake and shark, from their restaurant in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.  

Ube Kitchen: Filipino desserts and snacks, including a technicolor halo-halo with made from scratch ube ice cream, fresh fruit, toasted coconut flakes, and diced dragon fruit, served in a dragon fruit bowl. Vegan options. Healthy-ish!

 Visit our Smorgasburg web page for hours and directions!

Martin Seck/Jimmy Sawh

Prospect Park Alliance Announces Full Season 150th Anniversary Events

March 29, 2017

On April 1, Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue, NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and other elected officials joined community members to kick off the celebration of Prospect Park’s 150th Anniversary, with a weekend of special events and festivities. This Opening Weekend celebration kicks off a full season of 150th anniversary programming marking this milestone, which includes special concerts, tours, an oral history project and exhibition with partners including the Brooklyn Historical Society, Brooklyn Public Library, New York Philharmonic, BRIC and Turnstile Tours.

“Prospect Park is one of New York City’s jewels and a landmark in the life of my family,” said Mayor de Blasio. “Celebrating the park’s 150th anniversary reminds me of being married there and the days I spent coaching baseball and taking my children to the playgrounds. On behalf of 8.5 million New Yorkers, I want to thank the Prospect Park Alliance and all the volunteers and organizations that help maintain ‘Brooklyn’s backyard,’ and urge anyone who hasn’t had the chance to pay it a visit.”
 
“Happy 150th birthday, Prospect Park!” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “This year marks a major milestone for ‘Brooklyn’s backyard,’and Parks is honored to be a part of the celebration. For thirty years, the partnership with Prospect Park Alliance has made it possible for such a beloved outdoor space to thrive and become the destination is it today. This year, there are plenty of opportunities to come together and enjoy this park we all hold so dear. We look forward to another 150 years of joining this community to care for Prospect Park.”
 
“Prospect Park’s history closely mirrors that of the city, and its upswings and downswings,” said Sue Donoghue, President of the Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that sustains the Park. “Prospect Park Alliance was founded at a time when the Park was in decline, and through a successful private-public partnership, today the Park is once again a cherished community haven. We are so thrilled to present a range of events this spring, summer and fall that will bring the community together to celebrate this important milestone.”
 
Prospect Park’s history closely mirrors the history of Brooklyn, which was chartered in 1834 and by the 1860s became the nation’s third largest city. This growth prompted civic leaders to spearhead the creation of Prospect Park as Brooklyn’s flagship park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park. In 1866, ground was broken and in 1867, the Park Commissioners held an “Opening Day” event that attracted thousands of visitors. Since that time, the Park has served as Brooklyn’s Backyard, a haven for millions of community members from across the borough. Since 1987, the Park has operated through a private-public partnership between the City and Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances the Park.

Prospect Park Anniversary Season 
This full season of programming is funded in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies. A calendar of highlights follows:
 
Opening Weekend
Friday, March 31 – Sunday, April 2
Join Prospect Park Alliance to kick off the 150th anniversary celebration of Prospect Park, Brooklyn’s Backyard, with a full weekend of special events and festivities. The fun kicks off Friday, March 31, when Lola Star brings her popular skating disco to the ice at the LeFrak Center at Lakeside. All weekend long, enjoy the start of the spring season with an Opening Day Parade and Fair, an exhibition 1860s ballgame, running and walking tours, and the first Smorgasburg of the season, including the launch of a special Brooklyn Brewery Prospect Park 150th brew: Long Meadow Gold.
 
Party for the Park
Thursday, May 11
Prospect Park Boathouse
This spring fundraising party for Prospect Park Alliance will celebrate the Park’s 150th! Enjoy music, light bites from some of Brooklyn’s top restaurants and cafes, and specialty cocktails from some of the borough’s top mixologists. The party will feature Butter & Scotch, Tooker Alley, El Atoradero, Insa, Littleneck, Lumpia Shack, East Wind Snack Shop, Hugo & Sons, No. 7 Restaurant, Four & Twenty Blackbirds and Ample Hills. Nitehawk Cinema will host a lounge with exclusive cocktails and film screenings celebrating the Park’s 150th.
 
It’s My Park! Day: Prospect Park 150
Saturday, May 20 
Prospect Park
Join Prospect Park Alliance and REI to care for your Park! On It’s My Park! Day, Alliance volunteers will participate in a citywide effort to care for our green spaces with brooms, shovels, rakes, and trash grabbers. In honor of Prospect Park’s 150th anniversary, the Alliance is aiming to have 150 volunteers in the Park on May 20. Stewardship work will include woodland restoration. Presented by REI.
 
New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks: Prospect Park 150
Friday, June 16
Long Meadow Ball Fields, Prospect Park
The New York Philharmonic partners with Prospect Park Alliance to honor the Park’s 150th Anniversary as part of the Philharmonic’s Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer. The Philharmonic will feature Brooklyn-based musicians performing an opening act, presented as part of the Philharmonic’s Share the Stage program and in celebration of the Park’s 150th and the Philharmonic’s 175th anniversary.
 
The Means of a Ready Escape: Brooklyn’s Prospect Park 
On view July 13, 2017 – September 30, 2018 
Brooklyn Historical Society
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Prospect Park, Brooklyn Historical Society and Prospect Park Alliance present an exhibition that celebrates the founding vision of the Park, traces its social and historical trajectories, and examines the important role that Prospect Park has played as “Brooklyn’s Backyard” for 150 years.
 
The Connective Project
July 7–17, 2017
Prospect Park
In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of Brooklyn’s Backyard, Prospect Park Alliance is bringing together artists, Brooklyn notables and the public to create a site-specific art installation, which celebrates the special meaning the Park has in the lives of millions of community members from across the borough and beyond. Funded in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies and NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
 
BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival: Prospect Park 150th Celebration
Summer 2017
Prospect Park Bandshell
As part of the 150th celebration, BRIC and Prospect Park Alliance will host a special one-evening celebration of Prospect Park as part of the annual BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, featuring performances and special festivities in honor of the Park.
 
The Moth StorySLAM: Prospect Park 150
Thursday, September 7
Prospect Park Picnic House

Prospect Park Alliance and The Moth present a special Moth StorySLAM in celebration of the Park’s 150th Anniversary.  This open-mic storytelling competition is open to anyone with a five-minute story to share on the night’s theme: Anniversaries. Come tell a story, or just enjoy the show!

Ongoing Programs

 Prospect Park History Tour
Select Sundays at 10 am and select Friday evenings at 6 pm, April through October
Celebrate the 150th anniversary of Prospect Park on this special series of guided walking tours of this iconic park in the heart of Brooklyn. These tours will examine the Park’s many layers of natural and human history, from the landscape design to architectural eras visible in the built environment to stories about how people have enjoyed the Park over time. Presented by Turnstile Tours in partnership with Prospect Park Alliance.
 
Campfire Conversations
April 1, May 6, June 3
Lefferts Historic House, Prospect Park
Prospect Park Alliance and the Brooklyn Public Library kick off a new monthly event series as part of the 150th celebration of Prospect Park. The first Saturday of the month, enjoy live music, community conversations and refreshments around a roaring fire.
 
Our Streets, Our Stories: Prospect Park 150
All season long, share your Prospect Park story with Prospect Park Alliance and Brooklyn Public Library, which will be recorded for posterity in the Brooklyn Public Library’s Brooklyn Collection. The Alliance and Library are seeking 150 stories in celebration of the 150th: learn more at www.prospectpark.org/150stories.
 
Brooklyn Brewery – Prospect Park 150th Brew: Long Meadow Gold
In celebration of the Park’s 150th, Brooklyn Brewery brewed Long Meadow Gold, a beer that captures the countless long afternoons of fun in Prospect Park, and turns them into a crisp pale ale packed with laidback vibes that could only come from Brooklyn. A portion of all sales will benefit the non-profit Prospect Park Alliance to sustain, restore and advance the Park. Long Meadow Gold will be available at Smorgasburg Prospect Park which takes place Sundays on Breeze Hill in Prospect Park starting April 2.
 
Programs and prices are subject to change. For up-to-date information, please visit our events calendar.

Sanden Wolff

PPA Profiles: Peter Dorosh, Natural Resources Crew

March 16, 2017

This year, Prospect Park Alliance celebrates the Park’s 150th anniversary with stories from members of the community about the impact the Park has had on their lives. Interested in contributing your own? Submit your story and we might share it with other Park lovers!

During a recent spring snowstorm, Peter Dorosh was quick to point out the flurry of bird activity taking place. “See the robins? They’re hunting for insects under the snow. They already have their spring blush,” said Dorosh, referring to the creatures rosy breasts. Dorosh is a field technician with the Prospect Park Alliance Natural Resources Crew, which conducts woodland restoration and trail maintenance. The ultimate goal is to bring the Park’s woodlands back to their original state.

A Brooklyn native from Wallabout, one of Brooklyn’s oldest neighborhoods, Dorosh began visiting Prospect Park in 1975 when he was 14 years old, drawn by the diversity of bird species. “Prospect Park was the number one spot for me because warblers are my favorite family of birds,” said Dorosh. “There are 36 warbler species and you can see most of them during the migration seasons in the Park.” Prospect Park is what is known as a stopover site for many birds, an area in between the wintering grounds and summer breeding sites. During fall and spring migrations, Prospect Park is a world-renowned hotspot for birds that drop in to rest and refuel before continuing on their journeys.

An avid birdwatcher since he was a teen, Dorosh depends primarily on his vision to locate the birds he observes. Categorized as profoundly deaf, Dorosh relies less on the sound of birdsong to locate his quarry, and more on another virtue. “I’m very patient… I stand there and look for the movement.”

Recalling his bird watching expeditions in the 1970s, Dorosh recalled “the birding was great, but you just had to be careful of where you walked. It wasn’t safe in a lot of areas, and the Vale of Cashmere was a no-no—I used to get scared going there by myself. I usually hung around areas like the Upper Pool, which was safer, but pretty degraded.”

Since its founding in 1987, Prospect Park Alliance has undertaken an extensive restoration of the Park’s natural areas, including the woodland Ravine and the Park’s historic watercourse and Lake, which suffered from significant erosion and neglect. The Alliance’s work to restore the Park’s woodlands over the past three decades represents a $15 million investment that has encompassed nearly 200 acres of woodlands and the planting and ongoing care of more than 500,000 trees, plants and shrubs.

Before Dorosh began a career at Prospect Park Alliance in 2001, he was working at a bank and acting as the President of the Brooklyn Bird Club. After 16 years at the bank, he resigned during a merger, and applied shortly thereafter to work at the Alliance. After short stints elsewhere in the Park, he joined the Natural Resources Crew, a job that has allowed him to use his birding expertise to improve the Park. “I used to work in a 10’x6’ cubicle, and now my office is 528 acres! It’s a change of pace, and a change of scenery.”

“Restoring habitats is like art. To see an area become more beautiful and healthier is one of the greatest things. When I started coming to Prospect Park, the watercourse was so degraded, and now we have wood ducks! It’s a wonderful thing, to see ducks and ducklings in the habitats that were degraded back then, that are much richer now, it’s nice to see the Park revitalized and restored.”

“You can come to this Park, bird all year, and see close to 200 species, which is amazing for a small park like this. For people on a tight budget, or who don’t have the use of a car, this is a place they can come to on public transportation, and see an amazing diversity of birds.” Now a guide with the Brooklyn Bird Club, Dorosh is an advocate of this peaceful pastime. “Birding is a hobby, a leisure—something to distract you from the stress of work and other things that might bother you in life. It is meant to be a peaceful, harmonious thing to do.”

Watch a video profile of Peter and the Prospect Park Alliance Natural Resources Crew:

Martin Seck

Prospect Park Volunteers Honored at Annual Brunch

On March 4, Prospect Park Alliance celebrated more than 100 committed Prospect Park volunteers and community leaders at the 29th Annual Volunteer Recognition Brunch. This cherished tradition offers the Alliance a chance to thank its exceptional Volunteer Corps, and honor those in the community who have gone above and beyond in their service to Prospect Park.

Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue and Volunteer Director Jessica Jamhoury were joined by Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Marty Maher and Assembly Member Robert Carroll in thanking the volunteers for their service. In total 16 volunteers were presented with awards commemorating their contributions to Prospect Park.

In 2016, nearly 4,000 volunteers contributed nearly 20,000 hours of service in the Park. Volunteers work in all areas of the Park on projects ranging from the beautification of the Vale of Cashmere and the Rose Garden, to woodland restoration and horticultural projects, to general Park upkeep including raking, sweeping, path maintenance and litter removal. The work of these volunteers is essential, and their dedication is visible in every corner of the Park.

View pictures of the event!

Learn more about volunteering in Prospect Park, and to sign-up for one of our upcoming volunteer events.

Tennis Pro Adrian Clarke Shares 3 Tips to Improve Your Serve

March 15, 2017

The tennis pros at the Prospect Park Tennis Center provide expert instruction to adults and children. This month we caught up with Adrian Clarke, one of the Tennis Center’s experienced professionals. A Barbados tennis legend, Adrian has represented the Caribbean in the Davis Cup. He has been living in Brooklyn for 44 years and has been working for the Prospect Park Tennis Center for 10 years, teaching players of all ages and levels. Adrian shared his 3 tips for the perfect serve:

1. The perfect toss: Adrian admits that even the pros often have trouble with their toss. He suggests keeping your wrist and elbow straight during your toss to allow for maximum control. Then, instead of throwing the ball into the air, try simply placing it with your outstretched arm.

2. A power stance: Stand on a diagonal so that your shoulders turn as you hit the ball instead of facing directly across the court. This rotation will put power behind your serve. Adrian calls this “the trophy stance”.

3. Perfect placement: Having trouble putting power behind your serve? No worries! Adrian suggests learning to place your serve in a couple of different spots on the court. This way, you can vary where your serve lands and keep your opponent on their toes.

Want to up your game? Sign up for lessons at the tennis center to work with Adrian and other outstanding tennis professionals. Pros at the tennis center give students of all ages personalized attention while they acquire fundamentals and increase their skill level.

 

c. Virginia Freire

PPA Profiles 150: Margaret Ring, Concessions Manager

February 17, 2017

This year, as Prospect Park Alliance celebrates the 150th anniversary of Prospect Park, we’re bringing you stories from members of the community about the role the Park has played in their lives. Interested in contributing your own? Submit your story and have a chance to become part of Brooklyn history. Portrait by Virginia Freire. 

She’s met John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, ice skated with Molly Shannon, and has given Rosie Perez a lift in her golf cart. One time Michael Bloomberg bought her a drink at Peter Luger Steakhouse. But Margaret Ring is a Brooklyn celebrity in her own right. “People say ‘Marge is a legend.’ I talk to everybody, I talk to every person who walks into this park.” And after just a few minutes of walking through Prospect Park with her, it’s clear she’s not joking.

A lifetime in Brooklyn and twenty years in the Park—working at various times at the Carousel, the former Wollman Rink and the Parade Ground—means Ring carries her own celebrity status. “You can’t go anywhere with her,” laughed friend and Prospect Park Turf Crew Supervisor Karen LeRiche. “Everywhere she goes, people know her and want to talk to her.”

“I’m that sixth-degree person,” agreed Ring, “you give me one person and I know somebody that knows somebody. No matter where I walk into, that happens.”

Perhaps unsurprising, since the Ring family have flourished in this corner of the world for many generations, “My parents, my grandparents, my great grandparents, were all from Brooklyn. Before there was air conditioning, my grandfather slept out in Prospect Park in the summers.” Ring’s uncles worked for in Prospect Park, planting trees in the 1940’s, and her parents got engaged in Prospect Park, on the Long Meadow. Her father, who according to Margaret “people said was the most handsome man in Brooklyn,” was an umpire on weekends at the Parade Ground. “He introduced us to the Park. On Sundays after the baseball games we would go through the woods here, he would take us up and down the trails.”

Growing up around the Park—biking, playing softball and spending hours in the playgrounds—Margaret has witnessed firsthand the transformation of Prospect Park. “As a kid, I walked from Grand Army Plaza home alone through the Park maybe one or two times. I said, ‘wow, this is beautiful’ but I didn’t see a single person in the Park, it was kind of scary.” Brooklyn’s flagship park, which opened to the public in 1867, has seen it ups and downs, but during a citywide fiscal crisis in the 1970s, it fell into serious disrepair. Dilapidated structures, untended greenery and unsafe conditions led to a precipitous drop in visitorship. The community outcry that followed was directly responsible for the founding of Prospect Park Alliance in 1987.

Ring began working for the Prospect Park Alliance in 1997, as the organization was growing and undertaking increasingly ambitious projects aimed at improving the Park and increasing visitorship. “I tell everybody, if it wasn’t for the Alliance, we wouldn’t have a Park as nice as this. Even in the 20 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen changes.” A project she particularly cherishes is the restoration of the Park woodlands, “even when it was bad, it was still beautiful, but when they finished the Ravine, I tell you, I cried. I took my father through, and he cried too. You couldn’t walk through it in the ’70s.”

As much as any restoration project has improved the Park, so has the work of Margaret Ring and other Alliance and Parks staff who serve the public. They not only contribute to the positive change that has come to pass in the Park in recent decades, but also help sustain the Park’s authentic Brooklyn identity. “You treat people as if they’re your grandparents, your brothers and your sisters, that’s very important,” said Ring. “I had the good fortune to play in this park as a child, and I still do. It’s wonderful to work in a place this beautiful.”

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