Central Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, June 19, 2002

BROOKLYN SCORES AN "INSIDE THE PARK" HOME RUN

It was almost 90 years ago that a park opened at 55 Sullivan Place. It was a playground for adults and children, and the only game played there was baseball. Charlie Ebbets, the primary owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, named the stadium after a very important person, himself. An unofficial exhibition game was played there against the New York Yankees on April 5, 1913. And on April 9, 1913, the Dodgers officially broke in their new ballpark in a game against the Phillies.

But less than fifty years later—and only two years after the Dodgers won their first World Series—the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, rendering an entire borough of baseball fans heartbroken.

Last week, the spirit of Ebbets Field and the Brooklyn Dodgers was in the air, and it didn’t only come from the hotdogs and Crackerjacks cooked up by Parks’ Brooklyn Special Events Office (although they were quite yummy). In fact, last Tuesday in Crown Heights, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Council Member James E. Davis, Community Board 9 Chair Rabbi Jake Goldstein, community members, and children, to celebrate the reopening of Dodger Playground (formerly known as Sullivan Playground). The playground, steps away from where Ebbets Field once stood, has received a complete Dodger-theme makeover.

"In addition to adding brand new play equipment, Parks Designers Dennis Flynn and Randee Stewart paid tribute the first great Brooklyn team," said Commissioner Benepe. "Looking at historical photographs of Ebbets Field, they created laser-cut steel panels for the park’s gates and a ramp to simulate the feeling Brooklynites got when they entered the stadium’s grand entrance." The designers also placed a super-sized pre-cast concrete replica of a 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers Opening Day ticket, and they added a concrete North Arrow paver that lists the years in which the Dodgers won the Pennant—in addition to their one World Series victory in 1955. Kids can also play a water version of baseball thanks to a baseball diamond spray shower. The mini-ballfield features a water-shooting catcher and bases. Finally, parks planted several native species of shrubs including Aucuba, Euonymus, Hydrangea, Holly, Juniper, and various perennials. Throughout construction, Resident Engineer Hicham Osman made sure the designers’ plans went smoothly.

Ebbets Field cost $750,000 to build. Of course, that was back in 1913. Dodger Playground’s reconstruction cost $828,000 and was funded by the City Council. In a marked departure from Charlie Ebbet’s example, the Parks Department decided to name this mini-park after the team, not the owner.

"As we speak," noted Benepe, "the Brooklyn Cyclone’s 2001 Championship Flag is being raised above Borough Hall. I am pleased that Parks, too, is helping to bring back the baseball legacy to this beautiful borough." Council Member James E. Davis also commented on the significance of the Dodgers as a team of true racial and religious diversity.

Now, thanks to the support of elected officials, community advocates, and the vivid imaginations of our Parks designers, a whole new generation of Brooklyn children will grow up learning about one of the greatest teams ever to play ball.

(Wednesday, June 28, 1989)

In an effort to evaluate the use and security of Central Park, the Central Park Conservancy, created in 1980 to help the City administe

r and maintain the park, has appointed a Citizens Task Force, Conservancy Chairman James H. Evans announced yesterday.

The task force will assess park security and make recommendations regarding both current security arrangements and the public use of the 840-acre flagship park, which receives more than 14 million visitors a year.

"You don’t have to be in the Social Register to use the park. You just have to be considerate in the use of park property," said Commissioner Stern.

"I make no complaint. I am a writer.
I do not accept my condition; I will strive to change it;
but I inhabit it, I am trying to learn from it."

Salman Rushdie
(b. June 19, 1947)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center