Park(ing) Day is an event in which organizations from around the globe take over parking spots and transform them into mini-parks, open to all, to serve as a reminder of how public space could be better allocated to accommodate people instead of cars. Our spot was one of 50 throughout NYC.

Park(ing) Day is one of my favorite events of the year (since I discovered it through Sustainable Flatbush last year), and this year’s Park(ing) Day was as wonderful as ever! There is nothing more special than seeing people of all ages and backgrounds, who might not have otherwise ever mingled, meet each other, relax, talk, smile, play, draw, and paint together, all in one tiny green space. Park(ing) Day allowed us to reclaim our precious public space and make magic happen for a day, at Cortelyou Rd. Park!

While last year’s Cortelyou Rd. Park was organized by only two of us, this year’s park benefited from a slew of volunteers and organizations who donated their time and goods to make this event a huge success. This year, in addition to art supplies for the kids, we had a beautiful exhibit of F.A.S.T artists organized by Susan Siegel, organic snacks galore and a huge gift basket (that we raffled) donated by the Flatbush Food Coop, fair-trade coffee donated by Vox Pop, and plenty of hard-working volunteers who helped us organize, document, set up and break down our park.

Thank you to all who made this project a success by showing up and taking their shoes off to enjoy our patch of green!

A huge thank you to Anne for bringing Park(ing) Day to Flatbush (and to all of us!); to all our organizers: Xris, Mela, Rosa, Kelli, and me (yay!); and the volunteers who helped us set up and break down: David, Lashonda, and John. A special thanks to Xris, Flatbush Gardener, for loaning his backyard furniture for the day to dress up our spot!

Park(ing) Day NYC is organized by the New York City Streets Renaissance (a city-wide campaign for livable, people-friendly streets that includes The Open Planning Project, Transportation Alternatives, and Project for Public Spaces), The Trust for Public Land, and Eyebeam Art and Technology Center.

Check out highlights from our park throughout the day, from set up to clean up:

To see more photos of Cortelyou Rd. Park 2008, please visit our Flickr Photo Set.

Photos by Keka Marzagao