A blog about our Brooklyn neighborhood.
Send news, tips, gossip, and rants to ditmasparkblog [at] gmail.com.
Monday, October 10th, 2011
The Litter Mob will be meeting tomorrow morning to pick up trash in Prospect Park. From Marie:
David Chadwick says we’ll be starting a fence on the slope, ahead of path rehabilitation.
We’re usually a very small group, so please spread the word if you are able.
Litter Mob 12
Tuesday, October 11, 9am
Prospect Park (directions and RSVP info)
Sunday, October 2nd, 2011
The Hawk Creek Wildlife Center of Buffalo brought several birds to Prospect Park for the 14th annual Raptor Festival today. The free event involved a lot of audience participation, such as these children who bravely watched a turkey vulture swoop over them a few times. There was a lot to learn, too–like how the turkey vulture is one of the few birds with a sense of smell, which it can use to sniff out carrion from miles away. But don’t worry–the kids were warned to leave any decaying matter with their parents before lying down.
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
A reminder that this Sunday, September 18 is the Prospect Park Alliance’s second annual walk-a-thon, which helps raise money for the park–which really needs it, following budget cuts and a hurricane that damaged more than 150 trees.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
5K loop around Prospect Park
Rain or shine
9 a.m. – check-in begins • 10 a.m. – walk starts
Enter at 15th Street & Prospect Park West
(Bartel Pritchard entrance)
Sign up now!
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Monday, September 12th, 2011
September 11 has become a National Day of Service, but if you missed out on volunteering yesterday and/or happen to have free time on a weekday, the Litter Mob will be meeting tomorrow morning to pick up trash in Prospect Park.
Marie notes that it’s also the International Year of the Forests, so why not help out the oldest remaining forest in Brooklyn?
Litter Mob 10
Tuesday, September 13, 9am
Prospect Park (directions and RSVP info)
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Monday, August 29th, 2011
More branches, fewer condoms!
Marie has been leading the Prospect Park Litter Mob for several trips into the park’s Midwood area, where the group cleans up trash left behind in the notorious rendezvous spot. This week’s scheduled Mob will be out of the Midwood, however, because of a little hurricane action the area saw over the weekend instead.
Since the area is safe for walking around yet (it hasn’t been vetted for loose or falling tree limbs), the group will help with general post-hurricane cleanup tomorrow. The park was hit pretty hard, so they can use all the help they can get!
They will meet at the same location (click here for directions), and you should RSVP to littermob [at] gmail [dot] com if you’ll be able to join them.
Prospect Park Litter Mob
Hurricane Irene Clean-Up
Tuesday, August 30, 9am
Thursday, August 18th, 2011
While biking home through Prospect Park at around 9pm last night, I stumbled on this at the 15th Street entrance:
This is the Starting Line for Brooklyn to the Catskills, a 20-hour, 200K (actually a little over at 143 miles, according to a speaker at the event) relay race between Brooklyn and Sullivan County Community College in Loch Sheldrake, NY. The race is organized by a group called JRunners and benefits The Ohr Meir Foundation, an foundation “dedicated to bringing a feeling of joy and hope to the hearts of sick children by giving them a break from their rigorous treatment schedules.” This is only the race’s second year.
The JRunners mission is to pair the irreplaceable experience of challenging and exhilarating runs and competitive races with the importance of pursuing a healthy and vigorous lifestyle. To this end, JRunners is committed to placing the camaraderie and thrill of competition at the forefront of our endeavors, reaching wider audiences and motivating people to increase and promote awareness of their own health and wellness and the health and wellness of others.
The first leg of the run circled our area, going down Ocean Parkway down around Avenue M and then back up Ocean Avenue toward Manhattan. Anyone spot these guys running through the streets at around 10:30pm?
Also spotted at the starting event was State Assemblymember David Weprin, who is currently battling Republican Bob Turner as the Democratic candidate in the September 13th special election to fill former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s vacant seat in the 9th Congressional District.
In case anyone is thinking they may want to participate next year, their website states:
While JRunners is a Jewish organization, runners of all faiths, creeds and colors are welcome and encouraged to participate in this event.
While it seems like an extremely intense and challenging race, there was a palpable and positive energy at the Starting Line last night, with families gathered to excitedly send off the runners and smiles everywhere. Might be fun to take part next year. And, hey, there’s also a BBQ and concert at the finish line.
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Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
The Urban Park Rangers have a free camping program in Prospect Park that sounds pretty fun (as long as they don’t pitch the tents near certain parts of the park).
Families of up to four people are chosen by lottery to spend a night in the park with the Rangers. There’s a cook-out, then evening activities like night hikes and stargazing, and all you have to bring is a sleeping bag–they provide food and tents.
The camp out is scheduled for Friday, August 19, from 7pm to 7am, rain or shine. The 24-hour lottery is underway, and closes tonight at 11:59pm. If you’re selected, you will receive a phone call to confirm tomorrow.
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Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
If you want to see in person how one group can make a difference, join Marie for a Litter Mob in Prospect Park next Tuesday, August 16 at 9am.
The most recent clean-up was the seventh, and they noticed some progress, because the Natural Resources crew have added brush to the paths in the Midwood, which helps keep people out of the secluded areas. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered for all your hard work!
Tuesday, August 9th, 2011
Join the neighbors of Levys’ Unique New York for a game of life-sized Bananagrams in Prospect Park this Sunday, August 14. Bananagrams is sort of like Scrabble without the board, and in the Levys’ version, the tiles are huge, and you get bonus points for spelling out names of NYC neighborhood and street names.
Big Apple Bananagrams in Prospect Park
Northeast corner of the Long Meadow
Sunday, August 14, 1-4pm
FREE! All Ages! Bring the little ones!
RSVP not necessary, but if interested in more info, email Jonah@levysuniqueny.com.
Friday, August 5th, 2011
The Farm on Adderley has had a busy summer keeping local bellies full, but also feeding the crowds at the Celebrate Brooklyn performance series as well. NY1 takes a look at the festival menu, which Farm co-owner Gary Jonas explains sticks to the values they set up at the restaurant, but with a twist:
…the Farm didn’t totally stray from what one might normally order at an outdoor fest. They designed the menu to make sure customers could eat almost every item with a beer in the other hand.
“We came up with ‘in a cup,’ ‘on a stick,’ a fried vegetable section, and ‘on a bun,’” says Jonas.
You can preview the menu here (PDF), but you only have a few more opportunities to try it out–the final free Celebrate Brooklyn show is this Saturday night, when Ailey II performs Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations,” while the final two (sold-out) benefit shows, featuring Bon Iver and Cut Copy, are next week.
Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Kids 12 and under can ride the Prospect Park Carousel every Thursday in August!
The Carousel, which was built in 1912 and restored 1990 by the Prospect Park alliance, is open Thursdays through Sundays, from 12 – 6 p.m. If you can’t make it to ride free on an August Thursday, rides cost $2, and books of 5 tickets are available for $9.
It’s located by the Lefferts Historic House and the Prospect Park Zoo, just inside the park near the Prospect Park B/Q station.
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Monday, July 18th, 2011
James Heineman sends over this photo of a largemouth bass he says was “taken from, and released to, Prospect Lake this morning.”
Wednesday, July 13th, 2011
From the Prospect Park Alliance:
On September 18, raising money for Brooklyn’s backyard is going to be a walk in the Park! Join us for the Alliance’s second annual walk-a-thon, and raise money to help keep Prospect Park beautiful. Just sign up, ask your friends to sponsor you, then take a walk around one of New York City’s most beautiful Parks.
Your fundraising goes twice as far! The Brooklyn Community Foundation will generously match each dollar raised with one of their own, up to $25,000!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
5K loop around Prospect Park
Rain or shine
9 a.m. – check-in begins • 10 a.m. – walk starts
Enter at 15th Street & Prospect Park West
(Bartel Pritchard entrance)
Click here to see a PDF map of the route.
Advanced registration: $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12
The walk-a-thon is open to all ages and abilities.
Friday, July 8th, 2011
Because the litter in the park never ends, neither has the effort by Marie Viljoen to help clean it up. In May, she organized the first Litter Mob to pick up trash in the Midwood section of Prospect Park, but they’ve done four more sweeps of the park since, and it will continue bi-weekly. There’s been so much litter (but other things too, like raspberries!) to talk about, Marie has started a Litter Mob blog, so be sure to visit to see the progress, and to find out how you can help.
The Litter Mob meets every second Tuesday at the corner of Center Drive and east Drive in the park. The next clean-up is July 19th, 9am.
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Friday, July 1st, 2011
After a recent collision of a biker and a pedestrian in Prospect Park, which put the pedestrian in the hospital with serious injuries, neighbors in Kensington/Windsor Terrace have voiced concern over the safe use of Park Drive. Mark Simpson has put together a petition addressed to the Prospect Park Alliance to propose new rules and markings along the popular loop. Here’s an abbreviated run-down of what’s being asked for:
1. Paint road markings to show the intended use of each lane during the 90% of the time the drive is closed to cars.
2. Add many more and permanent signs to show the intended use of each lane. The current signs are temporary and there are only a few and most people don’t see them.
3. Change the lane use to match what works in practice: center lane for fast bikes (currently right lane), right lane for slow bikes and roller bladers (currently center), inside lanes for runners and walkers (same).
4. Place in-grade yellow flashing lights into the crosswalk lines at the traffic signal crosswalks. Make the lights flash whenever pedestrians have the right of way (light is red). Add a sign at every light that says “Yield to pedestrians when flashing” or “Yield to pedestrians at red signal”. Add signs for the crossers saying “Yield to Park Drive Users when Traffic Light is Green”.
5. Rule change: when the park drive is closed to traffic — walkers, runners, bladers, and cyclists doing laps on the Park Drive must yield to crossing pedestrians at red lights and then may continue. When the light is green, crossing pedestrians must yield to all users on the park drive and then may continue.
6. Double the number of crosswalks by adding additional crosswalks without stop lights at high traffic crossing areas between park destinations to encourage controlled crossing between lights. Add signs at every crosswalk that say “Yield to Park Drive Users” (the current law).
Read more and sign the petition here. Once several signatures are collected, it will be sent on to Council Member Brad Lander and the Prospect Park Alliance.
Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Starting this Saturday, head to Prospect Park with your junior anglers for an expanded fishing program, which runs on Saturdays in July and August at 1pm and 3pm:
The decades-old Macy’s Fishing Contest at Prospect Park has become the new and improved Macy’s Fishing Clinics! This exciting, free program offers kids quality fishing instruction and an introduction to aquatic ecology. Children 15 and under, accompanied by parent/guardian, will learn about recreational fishing, fishing safety, and fish-friendly techniques, all while casting their lines on a spectacular summer day in the Park!
Meet at the Audubon Center. Call (718) 287-3400, ext. 303 for details. The Audubon Center at the Boathouse is located just inside the Lincoln Road/Ocean Ave. entrance to the Park.
Please note: All fishing at Prospect Park is “catch and release” only. Once a fish is caught, it must be removed from the hook and returned to the water. The use of barbed hooks is prohibited by New York State Law. For detailed fishing guidelines, please see our web site.
Monday, June 27th, 2011
A series of cool outdoor art classes in Prospect Park starts in two weeks–great if you’ve got weekday mornings free!
Our summer sessions Art in the Park meet on Monday through Friday from 9:00am-11:00am. All classes meet once a week and run from July 11th through September 2nd for 7 classes (come to 7 out of 8 classes). Students will have opportunities to explore with natural materials while expressing themselves creatively. Projects in this discovery-based art and nature class include nature prints, mud painting, and earth art and nature sculptures.
Art in the Park will be led by professional artist and art educator Garri Matnadze, founder of M.GARO Design. Registration is required. Register online, call 917-340-4087, or e-mail artclasses@mgarofineart.com.
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Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Thanks to budget cuts, Prospect Park has announced that school programs at the Lefferts Historic House and the Audubon Center will be completely suspended in the coming school year. Brenda presents a good look at what these programs provide on A Year in the Park:
My passion for this piece of the park’s mission stems from years of similar work as a volunteer at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Like the Audubon guide at left, I’ve seen humbling magic take place between city kids and nature. Once, I lifted a turtle out of the pond and told a breathless semi-circle of middle-schoolers that they could touch it gently with one finger. Each one touched it, some reluctantly, most with a reverence befitting the climax of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” On their own, without a structured program, they would have sat on a bench and whined for lunch. Or never come at all…
Prospect Park Alliance spokesman Eugene Patron told the Prospect Heights Patch that the suspension may be temporary, and that access to the buildings will still be available for schools that want to visit. Additionally, the weekend, BASE high school, and Heart of Brooklyn BCAP summer programs will not be affected. But that’s a small consolation when you consider that more than 15,000 students participated in school programs at Lefferts House and the Audubon Center in 2010.
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Thursday, May 12th, 2011
See all those bags? This week, Marie and a group of Litter Mob volunteers (and a couple who tried but missed) picked up that much trash in the Midwood section of Prospect Park. Her account at 66 Square Feet tells of the expected–condom wrappers, condoms, paper, lube packets and tubes, since this area is known as a popular make-out site. Marie says:
There was an appalling mess in areas, but actually doing something about it felt very good…. I am not sure how good we will continue to feel if the mess continues unabated, week in, week out, and we make no dent, either to attitudes or to the forest floor. But one of the things that we hope to achieve is simple awareness of how special the Midwood is. People need to be here.
If you’re interested and available to help out, the next cleanup will be on Tuesday, May 24th at 9am, meeting at the corner of East Drive and Center Drive. (Marie notes: “While I am aware that midweek is not ideal for the 9-5′ers, Parks’ employees are only available in the week. Their support is valuable and informative at this stage. Later, when we have earned our litter wings, we could move to a weekend, solo.”) Please email marieyviljoen at gmail dot com to let her know you can make it, and so there will be enough gloves and grabbers available, which clearly you’re going to need.
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
The schedule for the “Celebrate Brooklyn” concert series that takes place in Prospect Park is out today. The series, which will feature food from The Farm on Adderley, opens on Friday, June 10 with Andrew Bird and runs through mid-August. Most shows have a $3 suggested donation, but a few bigger names play as benefit shows (tickets are still available for a couple of those).
See the full list at the Brooklyn Paper.
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Friday, May 6th, 2011
If you’re looking for a tough, outdoor workout, Amanda sends word that Captain Quinn’s Boot Camp is adding a 9:30am class starting May 16th in Prospect Park–if they can get enough people together. More info over at The Windsor Terrace Blog.
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Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011
Following up on her call for ideas on how to clean up Prospect Park, Marie from 66 Square Feet has arranged a litter cleanup of the Midwood area of the Park on Tuesday, May 10, at 9am. In coordination with the Park’s Natural Resources Crew, trash grabbers, garbage bags, and gloves will be provided.
It’s obviously difficult for some to make it out on a weekday, so if you’ve got a flexible schedule, please consider heading over for this event. Find out more details and RSVP at the 5/10 Litter Mob invite page.
Prospect Park Litter Mob
Tuesday, May 10, 9am
Prospect Park, the Midwood
Corner of East Drive and Center Drive (Nethermead Arches on map)
Email marieyviljoen at gmail dot com with any questions.
Friday, April 8th, 2011
Here’s an interesting event in the park this Sunday, which is supposed to be a beautiful day. Leda Meredith has been leading this for a few years now, and it sounds like you can find a lot of edibles. Has anyone been on the tour?
Field Trip: Urban Foraging w/ Leda Meredith in Prospect Park
Sunday, April 10, 2011 – 9:45am – 12:30pm
Prospect Park across from Grand Army Plaza
877-334-9355
Free, healthy food from the park?
Yes!
You can find delicious wild edible plants and mushrooms right in the city’s parks. Take a guided tour of Prospect Park with forager, committed locavore and Brooklyn Botanic Garden instructor, Leda Meredith. Leda will teach us how to safely identify and harvest edibles in the urban terrain. Pack a lunch. At the end of the foraging walk, we will spend some time sitting in the shade while Leda takes Q&A and we taste treats made with wild edible ingredients.
Leda Meredith is the author of The Locavore’s Handbook: The Busy Person’s Guide to Eating Local on a Budget.
What to Bring: Please bring a bottle of water, a camera if you have one, baggies for samples, a notebook, pen, and labels to identify what you collect. If you want to stick around afterwards, bring a prepared lunch. Wear comfortable shoes!
Tickets: $18 Pay online or in person (advance registration required)
Weather notes: We will walk in sun or drizzle. Heavy downpour, we’ll reschedule.
Refund Policy: There are no refunds for no shows or cancellations made less than 24 hours.
Thursday, April 7th, 2011
Do you have the what it takes to keep the wood fire of an 18th century farmhouse burning? Brokelyn points to a pretty cool volunteer opportunity at the Lefferts House in Prospect Park. Three volunteers are needed in the Hearth & Oven educational programming, working hands-on with the public, maintaining fires and demonstrating traditional cooking techniques. It’s Tuesdays and Wednesdays for six weeks starting in July. For more information, visit the VolunteerMatch page.
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Friday, April 1st, 2011
The Midwood is the oldest remaining forest in Brooklyn and home to the tallest trees in Prospect Park. The Midwood is one of the largest stands of intact forest habitat in the park: a place of mossy logs and towering trees, some of which may be older than the park, and could even have stood here during the opening salvos of the Revolutionary War.
DATE: Saturday, April 9
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Prospect Park
Meet at the Audubon Center (East Drive and Lincoln Road)
DETAILS: Discover Brooklyn’s last forest on a vigorous hike with the Urban Park Rangers. FREE.
For more information please visit www.nyc.gov/parks/rangers or call 311 and ask for the Urban Park Rangers.
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