Slowly But Surely, Green Space Comes to Kensington

The idea of creating a plaza in front of at Beverly Road and Church Avenue has been on the table for some time—and is one step closer to becoming a reality.

In late February, the Department of Transportation proposed their plan for what the park could look like, and if the community approves, it may become a reality in the next few months. (We’ve included a summary of the proposal in the list below.)

But Kensington Plaza wasn’t the only “green” project on on the to-do list for  Councilmember Brad Lander, D-Park Slope. Last April, the Kensington Prospect blog offered a breakdown of the projects in Lander’s purview. We checked in with the councilmember to find out where each project stands, and this is what he told us:

Kensington Plaza:

Representatives from the DOT offered residents a peek at their vision for the so-called Kensington Plaza, a pocket park to be installed on the newly-widened sidewalk in front of Walgreens on Beverly Road:  

•  New concrete. The current stuff is poorly bonded, meaning it could become a hazard in the event of ice forming in the crevices, which could lead people to fall. 

• The crosswalk across Beverly Rd. will be converted to a high-visibility crosswalk with white painted bars, making it more apparent to oncoming cars. 

• Tree pits. When the concrete on the sidewalk is redone, DOT plans to include tree pits with that the Parks Dept. can then plant trees in. 

• Standard DOT city benches, which are made of steel and topped with a special coating to prevent them from getting too hot. They will have arm rests separating each seat to discourage people from laying down, and may or may not have back rests.

• Low-maintanance granite blocks, for informal seating. The blocks are relatively inexpensive, and are useful for leaning against or setting down a cup of steaming coffee. 

• Standard, circular DOT bike racks, though a new design is in the works to convert old parking meters into bike racks. 

Dome Playground:

The Parks Deptartment is in the process of developing a design for Dome Playground, located at the northeast corner of 38th Street and Dahill Road. At a “listening” session held last March, residents expressed their desire to see the size of the playground itself increased considerably, a proposition that Lander said will cost more money than the $1.8 million currently in the budget (Lander has allocated a total of $1.5 million, and Borough President Marty Markowitz has allocated $300,000.)

Once the Parks Dept. finalizes the design, Lander said, the necessary funds can be allocated when the city budget is passed at the end of June. This will move the playground one crucial step closer to construction, hopefully to commence this summer.

“This isn’t everything,” Lander said, “but it would be a significant playground enlargement and improvement.

P.S. 179:

, like many schools in Dist. 15 and 20, remains overcrowded. Plans for two new schools in Dist. 15 and 22 are still in the works, but neither will be operable until around 2015, Lander said.

Lander had hoped to see the trailers at P.S. 179 removed, but because there are too many students for classrooms alone to accommodate, they will have to remain in place for the time being.

“From the DOE's point of view, the trailers are serving kids, and they need them to continue serving the kids, and class size obviously continues to rise,” Lander said.

Tree Planting:

You may have noticed that 300 new trees were planted in Kensington over the last year, per the request of Borough President Marty Markowitz.

And it may be getting even more. Lander’s participatory budgeting plan has not yet been finalized, but he said it’s very likely that residents will vote to have even more trees will be planted around the 39^th District.  

“If people vote for it, then the Parks Dept. will do more trees still,” he said.

Culver L Site:

Based on some initial appraisal and early stage environmental research, the Parks Dept. has identified a site that could potentially make a good green space, Lander said. (He declined to identify the location of the site to avoid tipping the current owner off.)

That said, there are a lot of obstacles standing between the site and the city, like whether it’s environmentally suitable, how much it will ultimately cost, and whether the current owner is interested in selling. For the city to acquire a piece of land to convert into a green space is extremely rare, but remains an option, Lander said, adding also that it would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of several million dollars to not only buy the property, but make it into a functioning park.

“I don’t know the last time in this neck of the woods that new property was acquired and made part of a park,” he said. “But we’d love to have more green space in Kensington so we’re continuing to push it.”

Dog Run at Greenwood Playground:

Despite extensive talk about the possibility of installing a dog run at Greenwood Playground, Lander said it won’t be happening this year.

The project was under consideration as part of Lander’s participatory budgeting, but the residents interested in renovating Greenwood Playground did not express interest in a dog run, and those who championed the dog run did not name Greenwood Playground as a place to put it. Because there was never any unified support for installing a dog run at the playground, it won't be happening this year. However, Lander said anyone who wants to see the dog run built can work to get it on the ballot next year.

“For this year, it’s possible that there will be a dog run on the ballot; I’m not sure. It’s possible that there will be another item at Greenwood Playground on the ballot; I’m not sure," he said, noting that the ballot would be released by the end of the month.

"But there will not be any Greenwood Playground dog run.”

Youth Market:

Last year’s youth market was a smashing success, and it will be making its triumphant return this summer. The Youth Market was so popular, in fact, that it will be expanding beyond fresh fruits and vegetables and into bread and/or cheese territory, which will undoubtedly come as welcome news to residents.

“The more successful it is, the more it will grow from year to year,” Lander said.

The market will open its proverbial doors in the beginning of July, and will keep them open all the way through October, so be sure to check it out. 

Are you on board with DOT's plans? .