Friends of Mount Prospect Park…
in the News!
Skate Park Divisions (WNYC: The Brian Lehrer Show)
“The city plans to build a skate park in Mount Prospect Park, which is across the street from its larger neighbor, Prospect Park, and adjacent to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and some residents are unhappy about the proposal. Hayley Gorenberg, founder of Friends of Mount Prospect Park, explains why her group is opposed to the skate park. Then, New York City Councilmember Crystal Hudson (District 35: Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant) shares why she is supportive of the city's plan to build a skate park in Mount Prospect Park.” https://www.wnyc.org/story/skate-park-divisions/
Two Projects in Brooklyn Could Affect Popular Green Spaces (New York Times)
“Rolling out a plan to pave over a significant swath of green space in a public park to create a concrete-centric, destination tourist attraction is atrocious,” said Hayley Gorenberg, the founder of Friends of Mount Prospect Park. “We are living through a galloping climate crisis. We have killer heat in New York City and the neighborhood, and the Brooklyn Public Library next door is a cooling center because of the dangerous heat our neighbors are experiencing.”
Community Board 9, in its June resolution, opposed “construction of a paved skateboarding facility on precious urban green space” and exhorted the city “to seriously consider alternative locations for this ambitious project right here in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/02/realestate/brooklyn-botanic-garden-prospect-park-projects.html
'This is going to be a nightmare': 'skate garden' proposed for Brooklyn's Mount Prospect Park met with public resistance (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
As area resident Felipe Pedraza pointed out, "Usually when you have a major capital project, there are hearings that involve the local community -- but we've had none of that. The community had zero input. I really believe if this happens, it's going to be a nightmare.” https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/02/09/skate-garden-for-brooklyns-mt-prospect-park-met-with-resistance/
In Brooklyn, a Fight Over Paving Parkland for Skateboarding: A Tony Hawk foundation and the city want to pour concrete over a section of Mount Prospect Park to create one of the biggest skate parks on the East Coast (New York Times)
Some nearby residents are fighting the plan. Their gripes are not about the potential influx of skateboarders or the ollies, kick flips and tic-tacs. They say the poured-concrete skateboarding facility would take up precious green space in a city that does not have enough of it. “Pouring concrete is Stone Age,” said Hayley Gorenberg, a co-chair of Friends of Mount Prospect Park, a group formed less than a month ago, after Mayor Eric Adams referred to the project in his State of the City address. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/nyregion/skatepark-brooklyn-park-tony-hawk.html
Opponents seek to grind skatepark in Brooklyn’s Mount Prospect Park to a halt (Gothamist)
Rose Rejouis said she’s come to the park for decades, and has used it for birthday parties and daily walks with her dog. “The whole community uses this park, kids take soccer lessons here and a lot of immigrants – who work six, seven days a week – come here to play soccer…. It's beautiful to see them do that,” she said. “We cannot afford to cut a single tree or to turn any more green spaces into concrete," she said. 'I’m really against touching this park or destroying this park. It’s so beautiful and peaceful – I can’t say enough good things about it.” https://gothamist.com/news/opponents-seek-to-grind-skatepark-in-brooklyns-mount-prospect-park-to-a-halt
Will a Massive “Skate Garden” Be the Coop’s Next New Neighbor?” (Park Slope Food Coop Gazette)
Flatbush Avenue divides the park from Prospect Park, lending Mount Prospect Park a sense of remove and relative calm. It was a safe place to sled on a snow day, away from the busy hills and bigger kids in Prospect Park; the place she posed for prom photos; and where she goes today to touch grass. “Prospect Park can get so busy,” she said. “When you want quiet, Mount Prospect Park is a tucked-away, slice of park to go to instead.”” https://linewaitersgazette.com/2024/06/11/will-a-massive-skate-garden-be-the-coops-next-new-neighbor-two-members-have-their-very-different-say/
Mount Prospect Park Skate Opponents Orchestrate ‘Singing Rally’ at Reynoso’s Birthday Bash (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
Aidan Screwvala, a resident of Prospect Heights, does not believe that “what’s done is done.” citing congestion pricing as an example….. “That was recently halted at the 11th hour, and it’s been years in the making.,” Screwvala said. “So if they can do that with something as. big as congestion pricing, how is something like this skate park a done deal? I refuse to believe it.” https://brooklyneagle.com/articles/2024/06/10/mt-prospect-skate-park-opponents-orchestrate-singing-rally-at-reynosos-birthday-bash/
Proposed Brooklyn skate park partially backed by Tony Hawk divides community, politicians: ‘Shocking’ (New York Post)
Residents who frequent Mount Prospect Park are frustrated by a proposal to put a massive skate facility in the picturesque green space – telling the Post that the so-called “skate garden,” which is partly backed by skate legend Tony Hawk, would “amputate” the outdoor hub. https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2024/02/15/us-news/locals-pols-divided-over-proposed-brooklyn-skate-garden/amp/
Protesters rally against Tony Hawk's planned Brooklyn skatepark (New York 1) https://ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/news/2024/04/05/protestors-rally-against-tony-hawk-brooklyn-skatepark-
"Don't Pave Our Park!" Tony Hawk Protest outside Beacon Theater NYC (FreedomnewsTV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj8yNNbktzk
”Living for the City: Mount Prospect Park” (WBAI) https://archive.org/details/lftcity-haley-gorenberg-7-24-24-1
The Adams administration has approved the construction of a skate park on top of Mount Prospect Park, a historic green space in central Brooklyn with nearly 100-year-old trees. The facility will cover 40,000 square feet and, if completed, will be one of the largest skate parks on the East Coast. It sits between the large Brooklyn Public Library and Botanic Garden. This $24 million city plan either constructs or refurbishes skate parks across Brooklyn and the Bronx begging the question, aren’t there bigger priorities for that much money….
Brooklyn locals plan to jeer Tony Hawk over skate park plans at Mount Prospect Park: ‘Save our green space now!’ (New York Post)
Gorenberg is hopeful that Hawk will hear the group’s complaints, particularly because he positions himself as a climate activist. “In recent memory, our neighbors have drowned in their basements from flooding, which is only getting worse because we are so over-paved,” she told The Post. Gorenberg also pointed out that New York City is home to some of the country’s worst “heat islands,” or spaces where the temperatures are notably hotter due to urban development. “Right next door to the park there is a cooling center in the library, because the heat is so dangerous,” she noted.
https://nypost.com/2024/04/04/us-news/brooklyn-locals-plan-to-jeer-tony-hawk-over-skate-park-plans
Opponents of Tony Hawk's Brooklyn skate park plan protest to the tune of 'Old MacDonald' (Gothamist/WNYC, pre-event) https://gothamist.com/news/opponents-of-tony-hawks-brooklyn-skate-park-plan-protest-to-the-tune-of-old-macdonald
Skateboarding Arena in Mount Prospect Park? (MTOPP)
Alicia Boyd, leader of Movement to Protect the People and community opposition to towers that would shadow the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, interviews Friends of Mount Prospect Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHXhiW3OVdk
Proposed skate park stirs controversy at Mount Prospect Park (PIX11 TV)
“There is not enough green space in Brooklyn as it is, and we need to be preserving it and enhancing it and investing in it -- instead of covering it in concrete." https://pix11.com/video/proposed-skate-park-stirs-controversy-at-mount-prospect-park/9439403/
Dispute Emerges Between Brooklyn Residents and Proposed Skate Park: The planned park-expansion is facing strong opposition from local organizing (La Voce di New York)
The project, in collaboration with skateboarding legend Tony Hawk’s Skatepark Project, aims to transform the park into one of the largest skateboarding venues on the East Coast. However, local community group Friends of Mount Prospect Park has vocally opposed the plan, citing concerns over the loss of valuable greenspace in a city already starved for natural environments. https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/news/2024/03/03/dispute-emerges-between-brooklyn-residents-and-proposed-skate-park/
Plans to build Brooklyn skate park draws pushback (Fox 5)