Upgrade Begins On Last Of Prospect Park Long Meadow Ballfields

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN — A years-long project to upgrade the ballfields in the Long Meadow is nearing completion in Prospect Park.

City parks officials broke ground Thursday on ballfields 2 and 3, which are the last of Long Meadow's seven fields to get extensive renovation.

The $1.5 million renovation is funded, as with the past ballfields upgrades, with help from Council Member Brad Lander, whose contribution to Prospect Park was celebrated at Thursday's ceremony. Lander will leave office at the end of the year to become the city's next comptroller.

“I’m so glad that the restoration of the final two Long Meadow Ballfields is under way!” Lander said. “Our parks and play areas are a critical resource, especially during this pandemic. We must continue to work to keep our communities happy, healthy, and connected through community green spaces. Brooklynites of all ages will enjoy these ballfields for years to come."

The renovation of fields 2 and 3 also include money from Mayor Bill de Blasio's office. The start of their renovation comes a year after fields 4 and 5 finished an upgrade and several years after fields 6 and 7 got a similar update.

The project will add new pathways, benches and shaded dugouts and storage bins to each ballfield, while upgrading its drainage, officials said. Construction, starting in January, is slated to wrap up in December of next year.

The ballfield renovations are part of a larger master plan for Long Meadow that the Prospect Park Alliance created in 2011.

The organization said Lander's support has been integral in the Long Meadow plan along with other projects in Brooklyn's backyard, including improving the Children's Corner, Lefferts Historic House, Concert Grove Pavilion, Endale Arch, Parade Ground Dog Run and several others that are in the works.

"Brad Lander has done so much for Brooklyn's Backyard during his tenure in the City Council, and we thank him for his service to our community," Alliance President Sue Donoghue said. "The groundbreaking of the final two ballfields at the Long Meadow represent his stewardship and support of the restoration of these vital recreational amenities for all of Brooklyn, and the larger legacy he will leave in Prospect Park."

See photos from the groundbreaking here, Courtesy of NYC Parks/Daniel Avila: