Tag: Prospect Park Alliance

c. Paul Martinka

Play Ball! Alliance Restores Long Meadow Ballfields 2+3

March 31, 2023

Prospect Park Alliance President Morgan Monaco, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Comptroller Brad Lander, Borough Parks Commissioner Martin Maher and Prospect Park Baseball Association President Eddie Albert took part in a much-anticipated ribbon cutting: the official opening of the newly restored ballfields 2 and 3 on the Long Meadow in Prospect Park.

The fields were restored by Prospect Park Alliance through funding from Comptroller Brad Lander while serving as Council Member in District 39, and are the final two of seven ballfields on the Long Meadow that have been restored by the Alliance through funding from the City Council and Mayor. The restored fields are reseeded and have new clay infields and drainage to keep them in good playing condition. The restoration also included newly paved pathways, benches and drinking fountains, and dedicated clay storage bins and shaded dugouts.

The restoration of the final two Long Meadow Ballfields mark the conclusion of an important improvement to Brooklyn’s Backyard,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. “These fields are vital recreational amenities for all of Brooklyn, serving thousands of youth each year, and we are so grateful for the support of Brad Lander, our partners at NYC Parks and all our local elected officials whose support enables the Alliance to sustain Prospect Park for the millions of community members who live and play here.

“With the completion of the last two of the historic Long Meadow’s seven ballfields, Prospect Park is a home run for baseball players of all ages,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “I thank the Prospect Park Alliance for having the vision and leading the way on this needed project. Brooklyn’s Backyard is ready to play ball!”

“I’m excited to say ‘play ball’ once again on the newly restored Long Meadow Ballfields, thanks to the hard work of the Prospect Park Alliance. Investing in our parks and recreational spaces is a necessity for the health and well-being of our communities,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.

“I’m so happy to see the Prospect Park ballfields open just in time for spring,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif. “Thanks to the funding for my predecessor, Comptroller Lander, our community will have fully renovated fields to enjoy this summer. I’m looking forward to visiting the park when it’s warmer and see teams playing on the new ballfields!”

“This was not simply renovation, it was smart renovation. By turning the diamonds into all clay infields with improved drainage, grooming the fields for play will be easier and more games will be played. By resizing the clay infields, all ages will have greater access to play. This is a perfect example of how great things can result from a partnership between dedicated public officials and the people they serve,” said Eddie Albert, President, Prospect Park Baseball Association.

Since the early years of Prospect Park, in the late 19th century, the Long Meadow has been a beloved destination for sports and play. Enjoyed first by croquet clubs, then for lawn tennis and today, America’s ultimate pastime: baseball. With increasing demand overwhelming the nearby Parade Ground fields, five baseball diamonds and space for football and soccer were constructed on this portion of the Long Meadow in 1959, with concrete and brick bleachers and surrounded by fencing, both of which interrupted views down the length of the meadow.

In 2011, Prospect Park Alliance created a new master plan to restore the fields in the Long Meadow. This ribbon cutting and the restoration of fields 2 and 3 marks the completion of the restoration of all seven of the Long Meadow ballfields and kicks-off right on time for the start of the Baseball season, where Brooklynites will enjoy all that the newly restored fields have to offer.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s Capital Projects.

c. Prospect Park Alliance Archives/Bob Levine Collection

Black History Spotlight: Flatbush Connections

February 8, 2023

As we celebrate Black History Month, Prospect Park Alliance is engaging the public around ReImagine Lefferts, an initiative to re-envision the mission and programming of the Lefferts Historic House museum to further focus on the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the park and house rest upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family. The initiative recently received a prestigious Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation.

On Saturday, February 11, Prospect Park Alliance is hosting a ReImagine Lefferts Community Conversation to share ongoing research and seek public guidance and feedback to inform our planning. To date, we have identified 25 people enslaved by the Lefferts family at the house between 1776 and 1827, including a man named Isaac.

This research would not have been possible without the support of civic leaders in Flatbush and beyond, such as Shanna Sabio, co-founder of GrowHouse Community Design + Development Group and trustee of the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition, a Black-led, multiracial coalition that works to preserve the Flatbush African Burial Ground from further desecration. Sabio developed a walking tour of Flatbush that explores Isaac’s story. Sabio shared her insight on the many connections between Prospect Park Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts Initiative and the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition’s ongoing dedication to sharing the stories of the resistance and resilience of those enslaved in Brooklyn.

A 1905 postcard of the Lefferts Historic House in its original location on Flatbush Avenue before it was moved to Prospect Park in 1918.  Photo courtesy of Prospect Park Archives/Bob Levine Collection.

“It’s fairly likely that people who were enslaved at the Lefferts Homestead also interred their loved ones at the Flatbush African Burial Ground,” shares Sabio. “Just as the Lefferts House is undergoing a revitalization and will become a site where people can learn about the complex and often painful history of Brooklyn, the Flatbush African Burial Ground should be a site of pilgrimage and remembrance.”

Isaac was sold by Jacob Bergen in Red Hook to John Lefferts for $250 in March of 1818. The high price suggests that Issac was extremely skilled and that Lefferts may have purchased Isaac to run his 250-acre farm in Flatbush. However, less than three months after his purchase, Isaac escaped enslavement along with his wife Betsey and her three sons Harry, Stephen, and Joshua, who were enslaved by the Martense family across the street from the Lefferts’ farm.

Archival document of Isaac's Bill of Sale.

The Bill of Isaac’s Sale for $250 as documented between Jacob Bergen and John Lefferts.

[Isaac] Bill of Sale, Jacob Bergen and John Lefferts, March 10, 1818; Lefferts Family papers, ARC.145, Box 1, Folder 9; Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History.

Both ReImagine Lefferts and the Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition seek to engage the public in a thoughtful dialogue about the legacy of enslavement and exploitation. On the necessity to share the stories of those enslaved on this land, Sabio says “Isaac’s story is a great example of the ways that enslaved people resisted their oppression. His labor, along with the labor of all those enslaved at the Lefferts House and throughout Flatbush, helped to cement the power and influence of their enslavers, and yet their stories are generally left untold. Unearthing, preserving, and sharing these important histories helps make sure that we learn the lessons of the past so we’re not doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes.”

The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition’s walking tours delve further into Isaac’s story and its profound significance. Learn more about the historic connections between the burial ground and the Flatbush community at the Coalition’s upcoming Community Day of Action and Remembrance on Saturday, February 25. Attendees will clean up the perimeter of the burial ground and have the chance to join the first walking tour of the year to learn more about the lives and stories of those enslaved in the area.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s work to re-envision the mission and programming at the Lefferts Historic House to recognize its role as a site of dispossession and enslavement.

c. Mary Keehbauch

Solar Innovations Take On Invasive Plants

February 7, 2023

Have you spotted plastic tarps in certain areas of the park and wondered why? Fear not–they’re not picnic remnants or litter left behind. The tarps are an eco-friendly approach to fighting invasive plants without the use of harmful chemicals. It’s just one of the many ways that Prospect Park Alliance’s Landscape Management team has deployed environmentally friendly and innovative approaches to keep the park’s natural areas green and vibrant; including the use of goats to clear invasive weeds, ladybugs to tackle a harmful insect infestation, and layers of cardboard and mulch to ward off opportunistic plants of concern.

This season, the team has been hard at work implementing a technique called solarization to help keep the park’s landscape healthy and resilient with strategically placed sheets of plastic.

Solarization at work at the Children’s Pool in Prospect Park

Solarization at work at the Children’s Pool in the Northeast corner of Brooklyn’s Backyard. Photo courtesy of Mary Keehbauch.

The team charts out a customized approach based on the specific needs of each landscape. “The plastic color and thickness is determined by the location and the target plants. Is it sunny or shady? Upland or near the watercourse?  Is it a small enough area that we will be successful with this method? How will it look or impact the experience of park users?” says Mary Keehbauch, Prospect Park Alliance’s Deputy Director of Landscape Management, on the meticulous planning behind this method. “Often, the invasive plants that are targeted would be nearly impossible to eradicate using traditional manual methods. Solarization is an opportunity to reclaim small target areas, causing less disturbance and, eventually, a lot less labor.”

Solarization at work protecting Prospect Park's natural landscapes.

Because of these shrub stumps’ location at the top of a steep slope, the team used solarization to avoid destabilizing the slope with digging. Photo courtesy of Mary Keehbauch.

At the onset, solarization is an intense labor of love and requires an area to either be completely cleared of all organic material, or in the case of the tall reeds near the lake, flattened with plywood. “Thankfully, we have very willing and devoted volunteers and staff that help prepare and install the appropriate type of plastic,” says Keehbauch. Thanks to the hard work of these staff and volunteers, native plants have been successfully reintroduced to the south Lakeshore area and parts of the Lullwater.

The solarization of a given area can span anywhere between two months to two or more years, and, while restoration will be ongoing, this technique has already helped slow the growth and minimize the presence of invasives in the park. Once an area is cleared or flattened, the team uses either black or white plastic to reap the benefits of solarization. Black plastic is used to block light and heat the roots of an invasive plant once it has been cut down, while clear plastic is used in areas of direct sunlight to stop the plant’s growth, heat up the soil to destroy the roots and rid the soil of any remaining seeds. The end result is soil that is ready to be planted with native, pollinator-friendly plants that will help Prospect Park’s ecosystem thrive.

The technique is currently underway in multiple areas in Brooklyn’s Backyard and is focused on suppressing Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii), Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria) and Common Reed (Phragmites australis). All three of these invasive plants spread quickly and form dense clusters that can outcompete and eventually replace the park’s native plants. This work allows native plants to grow and thrive, which promotes the longevity of Prospect Park’s landscape and helps protect the habitat of the countless wildlife that call the park home.

Keep an eye out for the innovative ways Prospect Park Alliance works to tackle invasive plants throughout the park and learn more about how the Alliance is sustaining the environment. 

c. Jordan Macy

Get to Know Morgan Monaco

January 18, 2023

Morgan Monaco, the new Prospect Park Alliance President and Park Administrator has a long history in the parks world and a storied record of leadership in support of her community. Most recently, Monaco served as Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative, a youth and community development nonprofit impacting the 6,500 residents of the Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest public housing development. Earlier in her career, Monaco served two tenures at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, first as Director of the MillionTreesNYC Initiative and later as Director of Stewardship for Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources. Monaco began her career at StoryCorps, a national oral history project designed to build connections between people and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs.

Monaco currently lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn and her family is an avid user of Prospect Park. As she begins the new role and leads Brooklyn’s Backyard into its next chapter, we chatted with Monaco about her vision for the future of the park, favorite spots and more.

What are you most looking forward to as you begin your role?

I am most looking forward to learning more about everything the Prospect Park team, both NYC Parks and Alliance staff, does to maintain and sustain Brooklyn’s Backyard. There’s so much that goes on “behind the scenes” that may not be apparent to the average park visitor, and I’m excited to learn in-depth how the park operates throughout the year. I am also particularly excited about joining the team at this moment in time. There has never been more interest in and use of the park, and I’m excited to talk to our community about why Prospect Park is special for them, and how the park has taken on new meaning during the pandemic.

With a background in environmental sustainability and social justice, how do you think Prospect Park can be a both thought and action leader in these areas?  

I think it’s important to start from a place of seeing sustainability and social justice as symbiotic. Sustainability is not just a luxury that gets added on top, but is deeply integrated into the work we do as a society to promote equity and social justice. I see access to open space as one of the core pillars, among others such as education, housing, health and safety, that help transition people from surviving to thriving.

Over the past two years in particular, we’ve seen how important the park has been for our  health and wellbeing. I want to work with our talented team, as well as our community, to continue to lean into that and think about more opportunities for New Yorkers to access health services in the park. There is widespread evidence of the positive health impacts that come from being in nature, and I’m interested in building upon that to establish connections between our green space and access to health care and social services.

You’ve had a long history with parks and green space in the area. What does it mean to you to be returning to this field?

I’m incredibly honored to be coming back to the parks world, especially during this moment in time when New Yorkers have a renewed appreciation for the value of open spaces. I grew up in New York City’s parks and this work is incredibly personal for me.

Since leaving the parks world, I’ve had a kid, which has added a new dimension to how I use open space. As a parent, it’s so important for my son to grow up in Prospect Park and have a connection to nature as part of his experience growing up in New York City. I am also grateful for how much more awareness there is about climate change and the ways in which individual actions have an impact on our global environment. I look forward to being back in a community with people who inherently understand that core value and are committed to being part of the solution.

How do you define success for the Alliance?

I think success can be defined in small and big ways. As an organization, it’s important to me that we have clear organization-wide goals that everyone can feel a connection to and support from their vantage point. Those goals should be informed by individual goals for each area of focus in our work, such as maintaining a certain level of excellence for our forest restoration work, or reaching a certain number of young people through our environmental education programs.

At the end of the day, it is most important to me that we have a clear focus for the year and work toward reaching our goals. I see my role as helping to be a galvanizing force that holds all of the goals together and helps to chart out a new strategic plan for Prospect Park’s next chapter. I look forward to working with our team and with park users to develop our new strategic plan.

What is a favorite memory you’ve made in Prospect Park?

This is such a hard question! I’ve had so many important memories in Prospect Park that it’s hard to choose just one. I got engaged on the steps of the Picnic House, my son learned how to ride his scooter right by Vanderbilt Playground, we’ve made snow angels and snow people…so many amazing things happened in my life in Prospect Park. I would say there isn’t just one memory but rather decades of wonder and love for such a beautiful and sacred space.

c. Elizabeth Keegin Colley

Mellon Grant Awarded to ReImagine Lefferts

Prospect Park Alliance, the non-profit that sustains the park in partnership with the City, has received a prestigious $275,000 Humanities in Place grant from the Mellon Foundation to advance its ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming at the park’s historic house museum to recognize its role as a site of dispossession and enslavement, and explore the stories of the Indigenous people of Lenapehoking whose unceded ancestral lands the house rests upon and the Africans who were enslaved by the Lefferts family.

The Alliance will engage the public around this initiative with a Community Conversation on Saturday, February 11, 2023, from 1-4 pm, at the Prospect Park Boathouse.

Learn more and RSVP for this free event.

“ReImagine Lefferts is a critical initiative for the Alliance, and we are greatly appreciative of the Mellon Foundation for recognizing the importance of this work, and providing the funding to bring this project to fruition,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President. “This project is an important step of many to help to heal deep-seated wounds from our nation’s past, and help anchor the narratives of those who have traditionally been silenced. The work we are undertaking at the museum would not be possible without those who came before us, and we look forward to partnering with and supporting the many civic leaders and organizations who have led the way in the Brooklyn community over the past many years.”

Lefferts Historic House is an 18th-century Flatbush farmhouse and New York City landmark, jointly operated by Prospect Park Alliance and the Historic House Trust. The farmhouse was originally located just blocks from the park (563 Flatbush Avenue near Maple Street) and moved in 1918 to its current site in the park’s Children’s Corner, home of the Prospect Park Zoo and Carousel. The museum features period rooms, indoor and outdoor exhibits, historic artifacts, historical object reproductions and working farm plots. Through hands-on experiences, cultural performances and imaginative play, visitors learn about the rich history of Brooklyn and also celebrate the diversity of our community today.

The Alliance is currently restoring the museum through $2.5 million in funding from the Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council to make vital capital upgrades essential to maintaining this historic structure, which is more than 200 years old. The project has enabled the Alliance to replace the roof, restore the exterior of the building, and repair paths and drainage around the house.

When the museum reopens in mid-2023, the Alliance will present free pilot exhibits and programs that engage with the legacies of Indigenous dispossession and African enslavement in Brooklyn. By centering the interpretation on these foundational narratives, which are often underrepresented in the telling of American history, the Alliance seeks to create opportunities for civic engagement and open dialogues about contemporary issues around race and human rights.

The one-year, $275,000 Mellon grant will support the planning, development and execution of pilot exhibits and program materials for the museum’s new focus, and enable the Alliance to engage culture bearers, scholars, community leaders, educators, artists and museum professionals.

The grant builds upon work the Alliance has conducted over the past two years to research the history of enslavement at the Lefferts house and farm, develop partnerships with Indigenous groups, cultural and local history organizations, and pilot new programming on site. To date, the Alliance has identified the names of 25 people enslaved at the site between 1783 and 1827: some inherited, some born at the house, and some purchased by the Lefferts family. The Mellon Foundation’s support will enable the Alliance to further its research about the lives of these people and their descendants.

ReImagine Lefferts programming and partnerships to date include: the creation of Juneteenth Way, a partnership with NYC Parks; two exhibitions with the renowned photographer Jamel Shabazz and the non-profit Photoville; Writing the Land, a collaboration between poets and land trusts, that commissioned Black and Indigenous poets to produce work about Prospect Park; and other projects.

Learn more at prospectpark.org/reimagine-lefferts.

About Prospect Park Alliance
Prospect Park Alliance is the non-profit organization that sustains, restores and advances Prospect Park, “Brooklyn’s Backyard,” in partnership with the City of New York. The Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the Park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas; restores the park’s buildings and landscapes; creates innovative park destinations; and provides free or low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs. Today, Prospect Park is an international model for the care of urban parks, and one of the premier green spaces in the United States. Learn more at prospectpark.org.

About the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities. Since 1969, the Foundation has been guided by its core belief that the humanities and arts are essential to human understanding. The Foundation believes that the arts and humanities are where we express our complex humanity, and that everyone deserves the beauty, transcendence, and freedom that can be found there. Through our grants, we seek to build just communities enriched by meaning and empowered by critical thinking, where ideas and imagination can thrive. Learn more at mellon.org.

Commemorate MLK Day in Prospect Park

January 2, 2023

Join Prospect Park Alliance to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Prospect Park with programming to give back to your community and learn about the environment around us in Brooklyn’s Backyard. Sign up for a volunteer opportunity to help keep Prospect Park vibrant, then make the most of the school holiday with family-friendly nature exploration opportunities including a winter wilderness walk, animal encounters, and more at the Audubon Center.

Day of Service: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Between 10 am – 1 pm, Music Pagoda, Free, Registration Required
Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a day of service in Prospect Park. Make a difference on this official day of giving back to honor Dr. King’s legacy alongside communities across the country.

Join Prospect Park Alliance to care for your park by focusing efforts around the Music Pagoda in Brooklyn’s Backyard and spreading wood chips, raking leaves, removing litter and more. Families, teens and adults are welcome.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day School Holiday at the Prospect Park Audubon Center
12-4 pm, Prospect Park Audubon Center, Free
Join Prospect Park Alliance for indoor and outdoor nature education programs at the Prospect Park Audubon Center, the first urban Audubon Center in the nation.

  • Discovery Pack, 12–3 pm: Bundle up and explore Prospect Park with our Discovery Packs, a ready-to-go kit filled with nature activities for families.
  • Animal Encounter, 2–3 pm: Join Alliance Naturalists in learning more about the animals in the Audubon Center’s collection. This program starts promptly at 2 pm.
  • Winter Wilderness Walk, 3-4 pm: Curious about animal tracks in the snow, how trees survive without leaves, or how bugs stay warm? Join an Alliance Naturalist for a tour of how plants and animals live in the winter months. This program leaves from the Audubon Center promptly at 3 pm.

10 Years After Sandy in Prospect Park

November 10, 2022

It has been 10 years since Superstorm Sandy arrived in New York City, taking lives and leaving a path of destruction in its wake. As Brooklyn residents at the time will remember, Prospect Park was extremely hard hit by the storm and the work to recover and rebuild for the future has spanned the past decade. Revisit the timeline of the Superstorm Sandy events and how they have shaped the park today:

The Superstorm—October 2012

When Superstorm Sandy arrived in the New York City area on October 29, 2012, the winds caused widespread destruction in the park. All told, the storm felled over 500 trees throughout the park, including 50 trees around the Children’s Pool at the Vale of Cashmere. Revisit footage of the aftermath of the storm in Prospect Park from WNYC. 

The Alliance worked to address storm damage in the Vale, in the Park’s northeast corner: cleaning up downed trees, resetting damaged boulders, and planting native trees and shrubs in order to stabilize the Vale’s slopes.

The Zucker Natural Play Area utilizes trees that came down in Hurricane Sandy.

The Zucker Natural Exploration Area—October 2013

A year after Superstorm Sandy, some of the downed trees found new life in the Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area. Tree trunks and branches were used by Prospect Park Alliance to create a new play area for children, where natural materials took center stage and imaginations ran wild. The Exploration Area was an instant hit and continues to be a beloved destination for families in the park.

New York State Grant—2016

The Alliance received $1.2 million in funding from the National Parks Service through the Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Assistance Grant Program for Historic Properties, administered by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, to restore the Vale and Lookout Hill (another damaged area) to a healthy, native woodland habitat. With this funding, Prospect Park Alliance began in earnest the work of deliberate and significant restoration work in these storm-ravaged areas of the park.

A crew of goats, hired to aid in the restoration work. 

The Goats Arrive—2016 + 2017

In areas of the park where trees fell, invasive plants were able to thrive and overrun the natural ecosystem. Steep slopes and poison ivy made clearing these areas a daunting task for staff, so Prospect Park Alliance called in the experts—a herd of goats! In 2016 and 2017, Prospect Park Alliance brought goats to Prospect Park as part of its woodland restoration efforts in the Vale in the park’s Northeast Corner and Lookout Hill. Instant Brooklyn celebrities, the goats were extremely efficient workers and relished the work of clearing delicious (to them) poison ivy. With full bellies, the goats finished their Prospect Park work season in October 2017, making way for new plantings in the park.

Hurricane Sandy Crew + Landscape Restoration—2016-2020

Prospect Park Alliance brought on a three-person crew to undertake the intensive restoration work necessary in the areas of the park affected by Hurricane Sandy. Tree inventories and health and hazard assessments were completed to quantify and prioritize the removal of damaged trees, including nonnative species that are detrimental to the ecological health of the woodlands. The crew selected a plant palette of climate-resilient and beneficial native plant species to replant in the area. The areas most affected by the storm became hotspots of year-round activity, with the crew and a dedicated team of volunteers hard at work.

In October of 2017, exactly 150 years to the day that Olmsted and Vaux opened Prospect Park’s doors to the public for the first time, Prospect Park Alliance volunteers and staff rolled up their sleeves and got planting in the Vale. Over 20,000 trees, plants and shrubs were planted—a selection aimed at building a healthy and long-lasting forest habitat for birds, wildlife and humans alike. A finishing touch to the lower Vale area was the installation of a rustic woodland trail, which brings accessibility into the heart of the restored area and invites the public to experience the forest as it grows.

Mary Keehbauch, Deputy Director of Landscape Management, and AJ Logan,  Ecological Zone Gardener, former members of the Hurricane Sandy Crew, standing in the restored Vale landscape.

The work completed was comprehensive and has been a success: this portion of the park has been restored to strong ecological health which will benefit the park’s plant and animal communities long term. The work in this area was undertaken by Alliance staff including the Hurricane Sandy Crew, and was supported along the way by a dedicated team of Prospect Park Alliance volunteers and the members of the Woodlands Youth Crew.

These years of hard work to recover from the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy continue to inform Prospect Park Alliance’s work to sustain the park now, and as we look to the future. The restored areas of the landscape in the Northeast corner of the park are flourishing and providing a blueprint for the work that is planned throughout the Vale area and beyond in the park to make our landscapes resilient as we face the challenges of the climate crisis and work to improve the park for the people, plants and animals that depend on it.

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance’s work to Sustain the Environment. 

Meet the Park Youth Reps

November 8, 2022

If you’ve stopped by the Prospect Park Audubon Center this year, you may have encountered the center’s six Park Youth Representatives (PYRs) in action, leading nature walks, promoting environmental education, sharing fascinating information about the center’s animals, park nature and history. Prospect Park Alliance’s Park Youth Representative program offers seasonal employment to high school students and introduces a budding generation of park advocates to careers in environmental and museum education. In addition to engaging park goers at the Audubon Center, Youth Representatives also typically work at the Lefferts Historic House, which has been temporarily closed for restoration until May 2023. This year marks the 20th year of the Park Youth Representative Program in Brooklyn’s Backyard.

“The Park Youth Representative Program engages an eager-to-learn, inspired team with diverse mindsets, interests and backgrounds.” says the Audubon Center’s Public Programs Manager, Camilla Wilson, who oversees the group of Youth Representatives. “With their support, the Alliance offers environmental education programming that is relatable and fulfilling to park visitors.”

Park Youth Representatives engaging community members at Pop-Up Audubon over the summer. Photo courtesy of Camilla Wilson, Prospect Park Alliance, Public Programs Manager.

This year’s cohort includes six students from local Brooklyn high schools, each with a unique perspective and set of experiences that they bring to the role. “My favorite experiences are the team building exercises. I have gotten to know my team better and made friends with them.” says Barbara, a first-time PYR. The group has also fostered extensive leadership skills throughout the season. Says first-time PYR Lyric, “A highlight of the program is leading Pop-Up Audubon and the independence I feel when setting up the materials. I’ve enjoyed being able to give visitors information they may not have known about the park.”

The program also offers youth the opportunity to delve into projects and gain first-hand experience in environmental education careers. “I have liked getting hands-on with designing exhibits,” says first-time PYR Gesmaily. “Getting closer to the animals has also been one of my favorite aspects. This hands-on experience isn’t something I’ve found at other jobs.” Another first-time PYR, Erica, says an important part of her time as a youth rep has been getting to know Prospect Park and seeing its ecology in a new light. “I always used to come to the park and I had no idea about the different plants. I’ve learned so much about the park by being a Park Youth Representative.”

Park Youth Representatives teaching youth about the Audubon Center’s Albino Rat Snake as part of the center’s weekly ‘Nature Exploration’ and ‘Animal Encounters’ activities at the Audubon Center. Photo courtesy of Camilla Wilson, Prospect Park Alliance, Public Programs Manager.

The Audubon Center’s 2022 weekend programming ends on November 27, so make sure to stop by soon to see the Park Youth Representatives in action. The Audubon Center will be open during Public School Holidays through February, with the exception of November 24 + 25 and December 25 + 26.

c. Martin Seck

New Prospect Park-Inspired Poetry

Six new poems inspired by Prospect Park are the result of Prospect Park Alliance’s partnership with Writing the Land, which connects poets with land set aside for people and nature. The partnership fosters collaboration between the environmental and creative communities.

Earlier this year, Prospect Park Alliance commissioned three poets to produce work about Prospect Park and share their work with the Brooklyn community: Black poet Rachelle Parker and Native American poets Michaeline Picaro and Opalanietet. The recently published anthology, Writing the Land: Windblown I, features their work and was celebrated at a reading at the Prospect Park Boathouse in October. Poets from across the country joined Prospect Park Alliance to read poems and discuss relationships among the communities and lands of Prospect Park, the arts and the environment as a whole.

“Partnerships with urban lands are new for Writing the Land, and we are thankful to Prospect Park Alliance for being such accommodating and generous hosts,” says Writing the Land Director Lis McLoughlin, PhD. “Our reading at the Boathouse was an extraordinary opportunity to bring attention to the importance—for city-dwellers and for visitors—of lands set aside for people and nature. We had a great time reading in this gorgeous place, and were grateful to experience firsthand Prospect Park as a welcoming haven for people to connect with nature in the midst of the city.”

This partnership is a stage for diverse voices to engage in a dialogue about the park and its history, an important part of Prospect Park Alliance’s community engagement work. The collaboration, while embracing the park as a whole, connects to the Alliance’s ReImagine Lefferts initiative, which seeks to re-envision the mission and programming of the park’s historic house museum to recognize its role as a site of slavery and to elevate the voices of the enslaved Africans who lived and worked the land, and the Indigenous people who were forced to leave their ancestral lands at the time of Dutch colonization.

“Our partnership allowed us to leverage the power of poetry to share perspectives on the lands that we sometimes take for granted,” says Maria Carrasco, the Alliance’s Vice President of Public Programs. “Poetry is a form of activism and has the ability to be healing and transformative. It can pose difficult questions, offer new perspectives on the world and help establish a sense of community. Joy Harjo, the first Native American United States Poet Laureate, expressed that ‘everyone’s behavior, or story, affects everyone else…we each need to be able to tell our stories and have them honored.’ Honoring experiences can lead to healing; that in turn, can forge friendships, partnerships and collaborations based on telling authentic stories from the past and present.”

Black poet Rachelle Parker and Native American poets Michaeline Picaro and Opalanietet spent several months visiting Prospect Park and creating poems inspired by the land—reproduced below. Each poet brings a unique perspective to their work and approach to Prospect Park.

From left to right: Michaeline Picaro, Opalanietet, Rachelle Parker

Michaeline Picaro, Opalanietet and Rachelle Parker’s work about Prospect Park and the full Writing the Land; Windblown I anthology can be previewed and purchased online at writingtheland.org.

Free Land Exists in Brooklyn

By Opalanietet

A land birthed free, sculpted by Creator
Utilization of ice pick, remnants of glacial ridge still seen
This land that still is Lenapehoking.
We give thanks to the Marechkawieck, we give thanks to the Canarsee
Which without their stewardship, this oasis never could have been
This land that still is Lenapekhoking.
Freedom is to roam, freedom is to play, freedom is to choose to stay
To be free with this land, we have no landlord, we have no king, or queen
This land that still is Lenapehoking.
Stolen, divided, quarantined for privatized use
Reconfigured, reimagined, a public space so green
This land that still is Lenapehoking.

A Damselfly Is Not A Lady Dragonfly

By Rachelle Parker

They are their own kind.
Gliding across lakes. With their
own moms and dads, children.
Pretty. Wings iridescent. Knitted.
Delicate. Filigree. Whizzing
between boys and girls with
popsicles whose own wings are knotted
under skin the color of rasped
nutmeg wait to unfurl, soar,
catch sun, become heart
shaped and moms and dads with children,
dart, scuffle, stay safe
and alive amidst the genus,
amidst the skittishness.

We are Still Here

By Michaeline Picaro

We are still here
We are still here.
Not all are tucked away like parks in cities.
Close- knit, core communities and dispersed afar in cities block.
Outdated History needs correction, NY, NJ, CT, MA, RI, we are still here.
Cities subjugate nature into insignificant pockets, it is still here.
Minuscule compared to its former honor, tucked away awaiting the unexpected wanderer.
They visit, enjoy or study, unearthing teachings of heart and spirit.
Nature is still here. We are still here, with teachings of heart and spirit.
We Native Americans are synergistic, onto parks of nature.
We are not gone, we are Resilience!
One of many Nations, Ramapough  Lenape Nation
We are still here.

c Paul Martinka

Morgan Monaco Appointed Prospect Park Alliance President + Prospect Park Administrator

October 17, 2022

Prospect Park Alliance and NYC Parks announced today that longtime New York City public servant Morgan Monaco will become the new President of the Alliance, the non-profit that operates the park in partnership with the City, and also the Prospect Park Administrator, a public appointment by NYC Parks.

Monaco, whose public sector career spans both government and non-profit organizations, brings extensive knowledge of park equity and community development to the position, as well as strong leadership in driving sustainable impact for civic organizations. Monaco is the first Black leader of the Alliance, further diversifying executive leadership within the open space sector, and continues the legacy of female leadership at the Alliance over the course of its 35-year history. Monaco succeeds former Prospect Park Alliance President Sue Donoghue, who was appointed New York City Parks Commissioner earlier this year.

Monaco looks forward to working with the board, staff and most especially park users to help shape her vision for the park’s future. Coming out of the pandemic and recognizing the ways in which the park has been an invaluable resource for New Yorkers to recover, she looks forward to strengthening the organization’s capacity in order to keep pace with the needs of the park community and the robust use of the park. She plans to leverage her experience in working on citywide equity initiatives and serving vulnerable communities to explore the ways in which the Alliance can bring more social services to the park. She hopes to continue to build upon the Alliance’s already extensive network of partners to bring more programs that are focused on health, wellness and other services that help residents thrive.

“On behalf of the Alliance’s Board of Directors, I am thrilled to welcome Morgan Monaco as the new President of Prospect Park Alliance,” said Iris Weinshall, Chair of the Prospect Park Alliance Board of Directors. “Morgan’s extensive parks and social service experience working at community-based nonprofits and city agencies has equipped her with exactly the right knowledge and expertise to successfully lead one of the city’s most cherished green spaces. I am excited to work with Morgan as her vision for Brooklyn’s Backyard comes to life.”

“Prospect Park Alliance has made a tremendous choice in its selection of Morgan Monaco as president. Morgan has experience perfect for the role – as a leader in both public service and public space,” said NYC Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi. “Congratulations to Morgan on her selection. I’m looking forward to all she can accomplish in one of our city’s greatest assets, Prospect Park.”

“From all of us at NYC Parks, congratulations to Morgan Monaco on her appointment as President of Prospect Park Alliance and Administrator of Prospect Park. We are so excited to welcome Morgan back to the Parks family!” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “I know that Prospect Park will thrive under her leadership, and I’m excited to see her ideas come to life and enhance the park experience for Brooklynites and all New Yorkers.”

“I am humbled to be able to take over the helm of such an incredible public amenity. As a born-and-raised New Yorker whose first high school internship was with NYC Parks, it is a dream come true to be able to steward one of the most significant parks in our city,” said Morgan Monaco, Prospect Park Alliance President and Prospect Park Administrator. “I am excited to be joining such an incredible team at a moment where there is unprecedented awareness of and appreciation for the role parks play in the health of our city. I look forward to working with the board and staff to help keep Brooklyn’s Backyard truly welcoming for all New Yorkers.”

About Morgan Monaco

Most recently, Monaco served as Executive Director of the Red Hook Initiative (RHI), a youth and community development nonprofit impacting the 6,500 residents of the Red Hook Houses, Brooklyn’s largest public housing development. Monaco was instrumental in leading RHI through the pandemic and helped to bring in funding relationships and new staff to help stabilize and grow RHI’s impact. Prior to that, Monaco led a team within the New York City Mayor’s Office of Operations where she oversaw various interagency projects and initiatives aimed at improving City service delivery.

A born and raised New Yorker, Monaco recognizes the value parks hold for city dwellers and has cherished urban parks since her childhood, which she spent growing up just outside of Central Park. Earlier in her career, Monaco served two tenures at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, first as Director of the MillionTreesNYC Initiative and later as Director of Stewardship for Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources. Monaco began her career at StoryCorps, a national oral history project designed to build connections between people and share the stories of Americans from all backgrounds and beliefs.

Morgan has a Master’s in Public Administration and Non-Profit Management from NYU Wagner, as well as a B.A. in International Studies from Vassar College. She lives in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, with her husband, a fellow public servant, and their son and two cats, Raymour and Flannigan. Her family is an avid user of Prospect Park.

About Prospect Park Alliance

Prospect Park Alliance is a private, nonprofit organization that operates Prospect Park in partnership with the City of New York, one of the country’s first public-private partnerships to operate an urban park. Celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the Alliance was founded in 1987 to help restore Prospect Park after a long period of deterioration and decline. Today, the Alliance provides critical staff and resources that keep the park green and vibrant for the diverse communities that call Brooklyn home. The Alliance cares for the woodlands and natural areas, restores the park’s buildings and landscapes, creates innovative park destinations, and provides free and low-cost volunteer, education and recreation programs. Today, Prospect Park is an international model for the care of urban parks, and one of the premier green spaces in the United States.

Over the past decade, Prospect Park Alliance has expanded its operating budget to more than $13 million each year for the care of the park, and increased its endowment to $25 million. In addition, the Alliance has secured more than $130 million in public funding for capital improvements, including the restoration of the Vale in the park’s northeast corner, the largest single capital allocation in the history of the Alliance. Other current and recent projects include the award-winning restorations of the Endale Arch and Concert Grove Pavilion, and the restoration of the Flatbush Avenue perimeter and the creation of two new entrances to the park along Flatbush, the first new entrances to the park since the 1940s.

During the pandemic, when the park saw record visitorship and a drop in public funding, the Alliance was able to rally its community of volunteers and supporters for record volunteer and fundraising success, which resulted in Re:New Prospect Park, an ongoing initiative to sustain the park to address high use during the pandemic via maintenance and capital improvements. Re:New also includes a partnership with ACE New York, a workforce development nonprofit for those experiencing homelessness, which provides a crew to supplement the City’s trash management efforts on peak days in spring through fall.

Other current Alliance initiatives include ReImagine Lefferts, which is re-envisioning the mission and programming of the park’s historic house museum to recognize its role as a site of slavery, and tell the stories—in innovative, inclusive and forward-thinking ways—of the enslaved Africans and the Indigenous people of the Lenapehoking. The Alliance is also working in partnership with NYC Parks and the Department of Cultural Affairs on the creation of a monument to Brooklyn trailblazer Shirley Chisholm at the Parkside and Ocean entrance to Prospect Park, which is also undergoing restoration, by MacArthur Fellow Amanda Williams and Olalekan Jeyifous.

The announcement garnered support from our elected officials and civic leaders:

“I am delighted to welcome Morgan Monaco as the next President of Prospect Park Alliance and Park Administrator,” said Council Member Shahana Hanif, whose district includes Prospect Park. With her extensive experience in parks equity and community development, she is the ideal leader to steward Brooklyn’s Backyard and ensure it remains an accessible and welcoming space for all. I look forward to working with her to advance the park, and engage our constituents in its ongoing care and stewardship.”

“Prospect Park is Brooklyn’s beloved green space, and particularly over the last few years, it has served our communities as a space of reprieve, recreation, and empowerment,” said Council Member Crystal Hudson. “Morgan Monaco is the right person to serve as President of Prospect Park Alliance to further that mission. Under her leadership, I know Prospect Park will continue to expand access to green spaces for all New Yorkers, develop programs that bring our neighborhoods together, and do so in a way that leads our City into the Green future we all deserve. I am so excited to welcome Morgan into the role of President, and look forward to working closely with her to guarantee the Park continues to be a place all New Yorkers can enjoy.”

“Prospect Park is a gem in Brooklyn, and our communities deserve a leader to take the helm of Prospect Park Alliance with the passion and effort that the job requires,” said Council Member Rita Joseph. “Morgan Monaco delivers on those requirements and then some. I’m so excited for her stewardship of our park and to collaborate with her.”

“I’m excited that Morgan Monaco has been selected as new President of the Prospect Park Alliance,” said Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation. “Under the thoughtful stewardship of the Alliance, Prospect Park has become one of the crown jewels of New York City’s Parks, serving so many diverse communities across Brooklyn. With her substantial experience at the helm of a non-profit as well as within the Parks Department, I’m confident she will continue the Prospect Park Alliance’s long-standing commitment to park equity and community engagement. I look forward to working closely with her.”

“I am confident that the selection of Morgan Monaco as the new President of the Prospect Park Alliance will give the park the kind of dynamic, competent and experienced leadership it needs,” said Assembly Member Robert Carroll, whose district includes the park. “As a lifelong New Yorker and mother I know Ms. Monaco has a personal stake in maintaining the vitality of our beloved Prospect Park. Ms. Monaco’s work as the Director of the MillionTreesNYC Initiative and as Director of Stewardship for Forestry, Horticulture and Natural Resources has prepared her well to care for Brooklyn’s 526-acre urban oasis. Millions of Brooklynites depend on a healthy, well-maintained and safe Prospect Park, now more than ever.  I look forward to working with Ms. Monaco and the Alliance to make sure that Prospect Park stays that way for my constituents, and for all of Brooklyn.”

“On behalf of Brooklyn Community Foundation, I am thrilled to congratulate Morgan Monaco on her appointment as President of Prospect Park Alliance and making history as the first Black woman to lead this essential institution for our borough,” said Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, President and CEO, Brooklyn Community Foundation. “Her experience in city government and local nonprofits, including most recently leading the Red Hook Initiative, makes her uniquely qualified for this position. Anyone who knows Brooklyn knows how much the park means to our communities, and I am excited to see how she builds on the Alliance’s work to ensure that the park is a place of equity, deepening its connections to the diversity of Brooklyn’s communities, while bringing our communities together in this incredible public treasure.”

“Morgan’s extensive social services and parks background makes her a perfect choice to lead the Prospect Park Alliance,” said Richard Buery, CEO of Robin Hood and former NYC Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives. “I’ve seen firsthand: Morgan doesn’t just believe in inclusive policy solutions — she knows how to enact them. I look forward to seeing how Prospect Park will continue to thrive as a place that welcomes all New Yorkers under Morgan’s leadership.”

Learn more about Prospect Park Alliance.