Yesterday was Park(ing) Day, and Sustainable Flatbush celebrated by creating Cortelyou Road Park!
This neighborhood is full of greenery — majestic old-growth trees and beautiful landscaping — but it’s all private property. We are seriously lacking in community gardens, all-age recreational facilities, and public parks closer than the Parade Ground and Prospect Park (more than a mile away for many of us). The Tot Lot on Argyle Road is popular with kids and parents (as one parent mentioned to me yesterday, it’s so full that “the kids are on top of each other”), but there are very few options for older kids or unaccompanied grown-ups. So Park(ing) Day — an international event, co-sponsored in NYC by Transportation Alternatives, The Open Planning Project, and the Trust for Public Land — seemed the perfect opportunity to create a public park for everyone.
We built it, and they came: a public space with real grass, trees, art supplies, games, wi-fi, and live music!
photos by Keka
More photos (and video) to come!
What a wonderful idea! Look at the faces on those kids. Funny thing was, I passed by while you were setting this up and (in a hurry) thought, “Huh, whats’at–maybe a plant sale for the library?” The energy brought forth by that one little patch of green looks so powerful, just in the pictures!!!
Sorry I didn’t hear about this until the last minute! Looks great.
Where did the grass go where you were done with it?