Millions in Improvements Coming to Prospect Park (Updated)

• Pictured: Arrows point to two planned park entrances off Flatbush Avenue. Image courtesy of Prospect Park Alliance

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — The NYC Parks Department has awarded Prospect Park millions of dollars for a series of access-oriented improvements, including to Flatbush Avenue along its eastern edge.

The money will come from the city's Parks Without Borders program, a participatory budgeting process which endeavors to connect parks more organically to their surrounding communities — with particular focus on park borders and entryways.

Prospect Park's exact allotment of this year's $40 million pot, which will be divided between eight winning parks, hasn't been set yet.

To choose these eight parks, Parks Without Borders officials asked residents to help decide how to spend $40 million in available funds.

About 6,100 suggestions came in, touching on 691 parks, according to the city.

Grace McCreight, a spokeswoman for the Prospect Park Alliance, said more people wrote in about Prospect Park than any other green space.

The Alliance has recommended that the funding go toward building two new pedestrian park entrances/exits off the half-mile-long Flatbush Avenue — bettering access to the park's northeast section.

McCreight said visitors often ask for a way to enter the park from Flatbush without having to walk to its endpoints at Grand Army Plaza and Empire Boulevard.

This northeast section of the park, adjacent to Crown Heights, has received more and more attention in recent years, as the park has aimed to transform it from a place "notorious for drug transactions and sexual activity," in the words of the New York Times, to a place where even a bunch of innocent upstate goats can roam in peace.

The Alliance has also recommended that the existing entrance near the intersection of Flatbush and Empire Boulevard be restored with new stonework and street paving.

In order to choose which projects to fund and decide how much money these projects need, NYC Parks will solicit more community feedback and craft a precise design for the Prospect Park work, department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor said. Once this design has been approved, funds will be allotted.

An exact time frame for the engagement and design process hasn't been revealed yet, so stay tuned for further updates.

The newly announced financing for Prospect Park comes on top of $2.4 million the park received in recent years from the discretionary funds of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and New York City Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo (whose district includes the park's northeast portion).

That money will be used to repave Flatbush Avenue; install new fencing, sidewalks and shade trees along its length; and double the width of the street's current pedestrian lane, according to Alliance spokeswoman McCreight.

These improvements will likely be completed sometime in 2017, McCreight said, in keeping with the park's goal of "making the avenue grand again."

In a related Wednesday announcement, Borough President Adams called for the city's Department of Transportation (DOT) to study possible traffic safety improvements for Flatbush Avenue between Grand Army Plaza and Empire Boulevard.

Adams said his constituents have long complained about cars speeding down Flatbush.

Eric McClure, who directs the pedestrian safety advocacy group StreetsPAC, said in a news release issued by Borough Hall that his group recently found local traffic to be averaging speeds nearly 50 percent above the legal limit.

And Brian Zumhagen, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives, said his organization is calling for protected bike lanes to be installed along Flatbush.

DOT spokesman Scott Gastel said the agency is reviewing Adams' request for a study.

Editor's Note: This post has been updated for clarity.