If you live in Brooklyn, you know Prospect Park. You’ve been there to run, bike, play ball, whether baseball, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, pétanque, or extreme Frisbee (okay, that’s not ball), lay out in the sun, take the kids to the myriad playgrounds, ride horses, build a snowman, work out, hike the ravine, go to a summer evening concert, paddleboat in the lake, see fall colors, go to the zoo, sit on a bench and read, cross-country ski, ride the carousel, watch birds, watch fireflies, play chess, take your pup to the dog pool, have a picnic, collect leaves, play in or listen to conga jams, ice skate, visit a museum in a colonial house, feed the ducks, go sledding, throw a party, have a barbeque, or even, on a summer night, walk into the trees and listen to the amazing cacophony of a million singing bugs.
Prospect Park is a draw not only for Brooklynites. Even if you don’t yet live in Brooklyn, there’s a chance you’ve been to our crown jewel of leisure. Designed by Olmsted and Vaux, the same team that created Manhattan’s Central Park, Prospect Park is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. Like all of the city, the park has been through cycles of highs and lows through the years, and at this time is riding as high as it’s ever been. Fueled by support systems including the Prospect Park Alliance, The Friends of Prospect Park, and the rangers of the National Park Service, the park in many areas within its 526-acres has been refreshed, renewed, and, when necessary, restored, with a wide range of clean-up/fix-up projects completed, many others ongoing, and more big ideas in the planning and development stages.
Access to the park is easy, with the 2, 3, 4, 5, B, Q, F, G, and Franklin Avenue Shuttle trains all stopping within a block or two from a park entrance, so whether you live in Greenpoint or Brighton Beach you can get there with one train ride. With all that the park offers, it’s no wonder that many people moving to Brooklyn, especially those in Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Prospect Heights, and Crown Heights, were sold on the area because of Prospect Park. And that’s not to mention the nearby Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library, all lined up next to each other along Eastern Parkway just across Flatbush Avenue from the park.
If you’re moving to or within New York City, we know you’ll be looking at Brooklyn. If you’ve never been to Prospect Park, you must spend a day or two getting to know Prospect Park. There are a million great reasons to move to Brooklyn. Prospect Park and the areas around it hold many of them. Check it out.
All Things Brooklyn 