The Prospect Park Alliance wants your wedding photos for the Monday, September 19th ribbon cutting in celebration of the Picnic House’s restoration. Bring them in person, e-mail them, or send them by regular mail. More details here.
"Real" Rules for Picnics in Prospect Park
Over on D103.com: “There are really two sets of rules for picnics in Prospect Park, the formal rules and the informal rules.”
“Formal rules say permits are required for parties of 25 or more, no alcohol is allowed, and tables are first come, first serve.”
“The informal rules say permits are only required if you’re a monstrous family reunion or church group, alcohol is fine as long as you pour it into plastic Solo cups, and ‘first come first serve’ means ‘get there by 7 a.m.'”
Link: Rules of picnics [D103.com]
Mount Prospect Park is Going to Be Redesigned…
…and you can tell them what you think, Wednesday evening. Easternpkwy writes: “If you are interested in Mount Prospect Park (its condition, its security, its usage, or its potential), do not miss this meeting:”
Wednesday, July 20, from 6:00 to 8:00
Boardroom, Brooklyn Museum
Easternpkwy continues: “Community Board 9’s Parks, Recreation, and Culture committee will be discussing some specific proposals for redesigning the park. We hope that, from this meeting, we can organize a working group of neighbors and park users who can further develop plans to improve Mount Prospect and draw it more closely into the fabric of the neighborhood. Everything is ‘on the table’ at this early date.”
“If you (like me!) use the park to relax, to walk your dogs, for the playground, please come out and get informed and involved. If you DON’T use the park, for whatever reason, and have some suggestions that would make it a friendlier place, please come out as well!”
LINK: What is Mount Prospect Park? [Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia]
NY Philharmonic and Fireworks in the Park Tonight
Thanks to daveb for the reminder.
“Conducted by Xian Zhang and featuring Karen Gomyo on violin, the concert will feature works by Wagner, Lalo, and Tchaikovsky.”
Wagner: The Flying Dutchman Overture
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5
More info here.
Forgotten Prospect Park
If you thought you knew Prospect Park, think again. Kevin from Forgotten New York just assembled a pretty darn comprehensive history of Prospect Park that is full of delicious tidbits about Revolutionary landmarks, the Quaker graveyard, that gorgeous Horse Tamers sculpture, why the Vale of Cashmere has that funny name (and why you should stay away from it). In particular, I appreciated his explanation of those annoying hexagonal sidewalks:
“Prospect Park, and indeed most New York City parks, employ special sidewalks on their exteriors and on some park walks consisting of interlocking hexagonal blocks, that can be hard to walk on at times. Most likely, they are there to accommodate tree roots; when roots interact with the usual concrete slab sidewalks, the sidewalks lose the battle and split, making for dangerous walking conditions.”
Just reading the article makes me want to print it out and head the heck on over there!
LINK: Secret Prospect Park [Forgotten NY]
Thanks for the tip: satanslaundromat
Hands On New York Day in Prospect Park
Hands On New York Day (formerly N.Y. Cares Spring Clean-Up) is this Saturday, April 16. Basically it’s a day for New Yorkers to celebrate spring in the city while beautifying over fifty parks in the process. Prospect Heights locals can partake in nearby clean-up action at Prospect Park, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: “Meet at the north end of the Long Meadow. Enter the Park at Grand Army Plaza.” One way to look at it: a way to contribute to the community by helping revitalize our shared outdoor spaces. Another way to look at it: a chance to indulge your obsessive-compulsive disorder by correcting flaw after flaw after flaw in our urban environment. Aren’t you just dying to pick up that crumpled potato chip bag lying in the grass, and that dried-up condom stuck to the path? A fun opportunity to right some of the world’s wrongs…. [Photo: J. Chesbrough; prospect park with the bike gang: April 18, 2004.]
The Ducks of Cashmere
PROSPECT PARK: Although they aren’t technically in ProHo, it’s obvious that these ducks, Lady Moody and Robert Moses, relate more to our side of Flatbush. Go visit them and their other bird friends at the Vale of Cashmere, which is sporting brand new fountains in its pond. But please, leave that stale bread at home.
Pictured: Lady Moody and Robert Moses argue urban planning
See them in a not-safe-for-work shot.
News Flash: IT SNOWED; Boy Makes Bunny Slope Igloo
Deborah Kolben of the Daily News was the first to break the story of 5-year-old Prospect Heights resident Sam Ritter, who "decided he was sick of
sledding but trudged off anyway with his dad to Prospect Park … ‘This is an igloo with bunny slopes,’ explained Sam, who was busy engineering a giant snow sculpture, complete with tunnels."
Heads up: The snow melted, and parking rules are in effect again. Don’t try anything funny.
Seniors Lash Out at World Leaders, Transportation Alternatives "Terrorists"
Aha… I knew I was saving this Jan. 10 copy of the Park Slope Courier for a reason. Highlights from the Jan. 10 Letters to the Editor:
–72-year-old Barbara Sheeran of Flatbush fumes that Prospect Park does not belong to the "Transportation Alternatives terrorists": "I will tell you why cars belong in the park … because it was built for all people to enjoy, not just those who live near the park." Later: "Since when did [the park] become the private property of those close by?"
-82-year-old Cornelius U. Morgan of Baltimore, Md. blows the whistle on the "Evildoer" in the White House who is ready to "give the bankers the assets in the Social Security Trust Fund": "George W. Bush is evil personified but because of his grand nature, a child of God, I love him as a brother and I pray that he will abandon his evil ways… "
Prospect Park when it's not 14 degrees F
Why doesn’t dailyheights have a Prospect Park section? Good question. Now it does. While this weather doesn’t inspire us to venture outside, you can just take a look at this incredible photo from RNWAR and fantasize about (slightly) warmer times.