City Harvest Food Drive At Carroll Park On Sundays Now Through January

Friends of Carroll Park has organized a food drive with City Harvest each Sunday starting on November 28, 2021 through January2, 2022 and help feed those in need this winter.

Volunteers will be in front of the Bob Acito park house from 11am to 1pm to accept your food donations.

The most needed items are: canned fruit and vegetables, peanut butter (in plastic jars), mac and cheese, and hot and cold cereal.
*Important note: City Harvest cannot accept glass containers, home made items, expired items or dented cans.

If you’d like to volunteer to help out with the drive.  Spend an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon greeting food donors. We'll make sure there are at least two volunteers per shift so you will not be alone.
Consider volunteering as a family!
Contact us here for details

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Voice Of Gowanus' Exclusive Café Rezoné Pops Up In Carroll Park With Three-Eyed Fish, Speculator Stew, And Nothing for NYCHA Nachos

Following the successful of its first outdoor pop-up in February,  Café Rezoné,  Gowanus' newest trendy dining option, returned today with a brand new menu in Carroll Park, Carroll Gardens.

This time, the upper echelon patrons of the exclusive eatery dined on Three-Eyed Fish, Raw Sewage Salad with Black Mayonnaise, Char-grilled lobbying dollars with a manufacturing reduction, and Pan-seared Public Place Toxins.

The event was an opportunity for the community to laugh, but also to learn about the absurdity of New York City's plan to build affordable housing near an EPA Superfund site that the City still uses as an open sewer, in a flood zone. Let's join forces to tell the City and Councilmembers Brad Lander and Stephen Levin that the massive rezone they are proposing is all wrong for Gowanus.

Café Rezone is the newest venture of Voice Of Gowanus, the coalition of community organizations and individual citizens for a healthy and sustainable neighborhood.

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Peace, Love...And A Whole Lot Of Disrespect. Carroll Park War Memorial Graffitied Again

This past Sunday 

and after painstaking graffiti removal below

Every so often, the World War I Memorial, which stands in the middle of Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens, gets graffitied. And that is not ok. Defacing a memorial dedicated to those who sacrificed their lives in the service of this country is just so very wrong, even if the messages spray painted are of "love and peace."

On Sunday morning,  a Friends of Carroll Park volunteer reported the graffiti on one of the bronze plaques of the memorial and on one of the table and benches close by. 

Gary Dolan, the current president of Friends of Carroll Park commented:
"What remarkably stupid graffiti. A message of peace, love and 'Be good' transmitted by defacing a public park. Surprised they did not carve 'preserve nature' into the side of a tree."

Glenn Kelly, a long time member of the Friends group, who also happens to be my husband, immediately went to the park to clean off the paint. Glenn reported back:

"It took me about an hour to clean or cover up the spray paint which some young fools used to deface the park and the WW1 monument. We have many veterans who live here and perhaps families of those listed on the monument. This senseless act is so disrespectful to them.

I ask that all you parents teach your children to draw with chalk on the ground only. Please teach them that it is not OK to draw on the building and especially the monument. Please also help us in controlling the children who regularly trample and tear up the plants in our gardens. Our volunteers have invested a lot of time and spent a lot of money to plant and maintain these gardens. We are counting on you to supervise your children's activities and provide a good example. Please!"

Here is a bit of a history lesson, so that we may all appreciate the memorial's significance. To parents, please explain to your children that this is NOT o.k. And that starts with scribbling on the memorial with chalk.

From New York City's Parks Department web site:
"The monument consists of an 18-foot tall pink granite stele to which are mounted front and back bronze bas-reliefs of soldiers and sailors, crafted by Brooklyn-born sculptor Eugene H. Morahan (1869-1949). On either side are bronze honor rolls listing those who paid the supreme sacrifice for their country. The frontal image represents a soldier mourning his slain comrades while the rear composition’s central motif is that of a sailor on watch.
A gift to the City, the monument was commissioned by a local committee at a cost of $9,000 and dedicated in 1921. In 1994, as part of a $1.3 million upgrade of Carroll Park and playground, the monument, its sculptural reliefs, and commemorative plaques were fully restored."

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Adorable! Carroll Park In Carroll Gardens Has Become A Raccoon Nursery While Closed During Covid-19 Lockdown

(photos and video courtesy of Gary Dolan)

The closing of Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn on April 2, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic has left many in the neighborhood without a place to enjoy the outdoors.

However, it has given plant-life a bit of a reprieve from kids trampling on flowerbeds and on bushes. Just walk around Carroll Park and notice how lush and beautiful everything looks.
Our otherwise crowded park seems to also have become a refuge for a family of raccoons.
A mama and her babies were filmed and photographed by Gary Dolan, the longtime president of Friends of Carroll Park just yesterday.
Gary writes:
"As the majestic caribou, sensing the absence of humans, descends onto the plains of Yellowstone, so does the elusive trash panda descend upon Carroll Park."

Yes, raccoons are considered nuisances by many, but we find these photos adorable and are happy to see that Carroll Park is being used at all these days. We also hope that people will be respectful to these animals once the park reopens.

Thank you for sharing the photos, Gary!

And to Carroll Gardeners, if you see Gary plant and weed in the park, please tell him you appreciate his hard work.


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While Carroll Park Is Closed, Cobble Hill Park Is Open. Why?

Above, Carroll Park in Carroll Gardens, which was entirely closed on April 2, 2020  because of the Corona pandemic.

Cobble Hill Park remains open except for its playground.

A few days ago, I received an email from reader Evan asking me if I had walked past Cobble Hill Park recently. He reported that this past Sunday, which was sunny and warm, it seemed "like a full on party there, packed with people oblivious to what's going on." He found it very "disturbing and upsetting to see locals acting like they're above the law."

I answered him hat I was a bit confused as to why Cobble Hill Park should be open. After all, Carroll Park here in Carroll Gardens had been entirely closed since April 2nd. In late March, the New York City Park's Department had taken away the basketball hoops and reminded people to keep 6 feet away from each other, and as that had not worked, the park was locked all together. No one has been able to set foot in it since then.

I wanted to check Cobble Hill Park for myself, so yesterday, as the sun was shining, I walked a couple of blocks down Clinton Street to Veranda Place. Sure enough, people were enjoying this beautiful day and the lovely plantings in the park.  

There were not many people there, but I was still surprised had it had not been closed like Carroll Park. The only section off limit was the play area in the back, which had been closed off with a  barrier.

Granted, Cobble Hill Park does not have gates at its entry point like Carroll Park and therefore may be more difficult to lock entirely, but a quick search on the Parks Department web site revealed that New York City parks are actually open.  Only playgrounds are closed.

One has to therefore wonder why Carroll Park was entirely closed when its playgrounds are fully gated themselves and could have been closed separate from the rest of the park, like the one in Cobble Hill.

The importance of green spaces in our neighborhoods have become even more evident during this pandemic.  They become even more important for those who live in an upper floor apartment without access to a garden or balcony, nor the possibility of escaping the City.
The news that Carroll Park was closed until further notice here in Carroll Gardens spread quickly and was met with dread. This neighborhood resource has been so much missed by so many.

If, however, people are not keeping a safe 6 feet between themselves and others or refuse to wear masks while visiting our green spaces, it would  make sense to keep both parks closed.

What do you think? If only playgrounds are closed, why is  all of Carroll Park on lockdown?  Or should Cobble Hill park be closed as well?

From the New York City Park's Department:

 At this time, City parks are open. We ask that all park goers take extra precautions to stay healthy and safe. While solo exercise is okay, team sports (such as basketball, football, softball, and soccer) are not permitted in our parks at this time. Please maintain at least 6 feet of distance between yourself and others when outside and avoid congregating in groups. 

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This Afternoon, A Hopeful Moment In Carroll Park As Young Couple Gets Married

What a lovely and hopeful moment.
Susannah Gilbert and Akif Akyuz got married in Carroll Park, Carroll Gardens this afternoon.  They had planned a wedding on April 4th, but had to cancel it. So they decided that today was a good day to say "I do."
The moment was captured by my friend and local resident Eunice Auer, who sent us the photos to share with the neighborhood.

We wish you much happiness and health for your life together, Susannah and Akif. Congratulations!


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Big Red, Where Are You? Someone Absconded With Carroll Park's Much-Loved Book Swap Cart

Has anyone seen Friends of Carroll Park's big red book swap cart that is parked in front of Carroll Park on most sunny days?

The Friends group, an all-volunteer organization that lovingly takes care of our park, purchased the cart a few years ago and has stocked it with books for all ages as a book swap library. It has been tremendously popular with park-goers.

This past Wednesday, one of the group's volunteers wheeled the cart out at around 2:30 pm since the sun was shining and the park was full of people. When he came back to take it back into the park house at 6-6:30pm, it was gone.

Members of the group walked around Carroll Gardens to find it, but have found no trace of the cart or the books.

Friends of Carroll Park sent the following email out to its membership yesterday:

"Our much-loved book swap cart parked outside the park house Wednesday, and someone(s) absconded with it when nobody was looking.

We hope one of our board members was correct when suggesting, "Maybe they thought they would be stuck inside and wouldn't have enough to read."

If you've seen it abandoned somewhere around the neighborhood, or if you have any other information regarding its whereabouts, please let us know at Carrollparkbrooklyn@gmail.com and we'll fetch it.

Big Red has served us well since 2011, and we just want her back home where she belongs!"

Someone responded to the group to say:

"I did in fact witness someone pushing the cart away from the park yesterday between 5:30 and 6, but unfortunately I don't know where she took it or why. A woman in a red coat pushed it out of the park and south on Smith Street, past the play yard of PS 58. I was puzzled because I thought it lived at the park, but I thought perhaps she was taking it to the school.

Good luck! What a shame."

Perhaps the person who took the cart just wheeled it a few blocks away for fun? Maybe the woman was heading to the scrapyard on Smith Street to make a few dollars? Or, as one member of the Friends group imagined, the cart may now rest at the bottom of the Gowanus Canal.

If you have seen it anywhere around the neighborhood, please contact Friends of Carroll Park

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Parks Department Presents Updated Visioning Plan For Carroll Park, If You Can Call It A Plan

Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Marty Maher

Councilmember Brad Lander with Marty Mahr

Assemblywoman JoAnne Simon

Existing Conditions of Carroll Park

First Carroll Park conceptual design presented in September 2019

Updated Visioning Plan for Carroll Park, presented this past Wednesday.

The New York Parks Department came to PS58 in Carroll Gardens this past Wednesday evening to present their revised Carroll Park Community Vision Plan to the Community Board Parks and Recreation Committee. The meeting was not well attended, perhaps because it was held so close to the holidays and because of bad weather. That was a pity, since the discussion about a redesign for Carroll Park should involve as many local residents as possible.

The revised Carroll Park Vision Plan presented on Wednesday was created after gathering the community's ideas during the Public Workshop in February 2019 and after hearing the community's feedback at the CB6 meeting in September 2019.  It is fair to say that the community was less than enthusiastic about the first concept, because it would shift the play equipment and water features to the ball field at Court Street.

It was the loss of the multipurpose play area with its baseball and basketball features that prompted a big outcry from local residents.

However, as Brooklyn's Park Commissioner Maher explained in September and on Wednesday evening, much of the recreational and sports features in our park are now out of compliance and need much more space around them to meet current safety codes. In addition, no new equipment that needs to be anchored into the ground can be installed under the canopy of a tree since it could damage the tree's roots.

Given these new regulations and the fact that Carroll Park has many enormous old trees, the options of where to put play equipment and what features can be incorporated in a new design are limited.

With that in mind, Maher presented a revised concept sketch of the vision plan showing one way to incorporate the community's wishes. It was necessarily vague because there is no funding for a redesign at present and our community must continue to work toward consensus and a design which will not result in the loss of what we value most.

The redesign did try to honor the request for preserving most of the ball field as a multi purpose play area, but without the baseball field and fencing.  

In addition, the park house may be renovated, and the bathrooms made handicapped accessible. The area in front of the house would be set aside as a 'civic space' and for special events.

The central portion of the park where the World War 1 Memorial is located would stay pretty much the same as would the seating area along Smith Street.

There was also talk of changing the entrances to the park at Court Street, as well as the possible removal of the iron fencing around the park's periphery or replacing it with a lower one because of the Park's Department's current "Parks Without Borders" initiative.

No dog park will be incorporated into the design.

Carroll Park was last renovated in 1994. Normally, New York City parks get renovated every 30 - 40  years, depending on their use and their condition.There is currently no money set aside in the budget for a total renovation of Carroll Park. Therefore, any such renovation is still five to ten years, if not further down the road and would likely be done in several stages.

This round of visioning, was made possible with a grant of $25,000 by Councilmember Brad Lander.

The next steps, according to the Parks department is to use the current Vision Plan to advocate for funding. Once funded, further community input sessions will be held.

In the meantime, The Friends of Carroll Park will be hosting design workshops and conducting surveys to build consensus and support for new ideas like turning Carroll street into a play street and gaining access to the schoolyard at PS58 outside of school hours so please stay engaged in this issue. 

We have time to think outside of the box and come up with an improved plan, which will help the Parks Department to design an even better Carroll Park.

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