Just learning about endangered Mount Prospect Park?

Here’s some background!

Mayor Eric Adams in his January 2024 State of the City address suddenly announced a plan for a regional-scale 40,000sf, poured-concrete skateboard facility to be erected on green space in Brooklyn’s historic Mount Prospect Park. Friends of Mount Prospect Park, allied groups, Community Board 9, and thousands of local petition signatories have been urgently seeking to protect the beloved parkland and its towering shade trees – pressing officials to comport with sound on-the-books urban planning policies, climate imperatives, public health, and science, and to shift any construction to nearby already-paved space. According to the Wilderness Society, Brooklyn has the least green space per person of any NYC borough. 

Since the project was announced, New York City has suffered record-breaking heat, tree-killing drought, and City parks have actually caught fire. Paving green space worsens urban “heat islands,” while urban green park spaces are vital, natural “cooling islands.” And poured-concrete construction would endanger decades-old shade-canopy trees – even ones that aren’t cut down.

Parks Department information shows that when the plan was announced, Brooklyn had more total skate facilities, and more skate facilities per capita, than any other borough of New York City. Parks provides no usage data for these facilities, and has since added another $4.35M facility in Brooklyn. Serious safety questions drawn from expert skateboard materials have remained unaddressed for over a year. The Mount Prospect Park construction would be publicly funded, using over $11M.

Our goal is the sound urban planning solution: Protect the historic green park, and shift any skateboard investment to already-paved space, as urged by 

• thousands of park-lovers who have petitioned officials to keep the park green (welcoming additional signatures), 

• Brooklyn Community Board 9, which passed a detailed resolution opposing concrete construction on Mount Prospect Park as "bad public policy" and welcoming skateboard facility construction "with open arms" on already-paved space, and 

• a raft of climate justice, skateboard, neighborhood and historic organizations (welcoming additional organizations to join).

Here’s a reel showing community members enjoying the park on Memorial Day. We have also posted a "virtual visit" showing some of the many ways people enjoy Mount Prospect Park, in the hope that people who have never seen the park may be moved to understand the importance of saving it.

We are happy to address questions and provide more information! Email FriendsofMountProspectPark@gmail.com.