Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, January 22, 2003

PROSPECT PARK RECEIVES NEW DRIVE HOURS

Prospect Park in Brooklyn will look a little bit different in the coming months. What changes will New Yorkers see? Fewer cars inside the park. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Department of Transportation Commissioner Iris Weinshall announced recently that Prospect Park will undergo a trial period of increased car-free hours. This program that began on Monday, January 21, will last through April 4.

"Prospect Park is one of our City’s flagship parks and I’m pleased that its patrons will be able to enjoy it free from cars and vehicle traffic this winter," said Commissioner Benepe. "By keeping the park open to vehicles during rush hours, people will still be able to travel with ease. I commend Commissioner Weinshall and the Department of Transportation for working to balance the needs of all New Yorkers."

Parks & Recreation worked with the Department of Transportation to come up with the best plan for popular Brooklyn park. The additional car-free hours is a change from the typical November to March weekday winter hours – which offered zero car-free hours.

Here is how the trial program will work: on weekdays, from January 21 to April 4, Prospect Park will be open to motorists from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then closed to motorists from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Motorists will again be able to drive through the park from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and again will be barred from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

In addition, during the trial period, weekends will remain car-free. Prospect Park will continue to be car-free on holidays from 7 p.m. prior to the holiday until 7 a.m. the following day.

The Department of Transportation also announced that summer hours will begin on April 7, 2003 until November 24, 2003. The times are as follows: open to motorists from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., motorists not allowed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; motorists allowed from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Park closed to motorists from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.

DOT and Parks plan to provide cars continual weekday access only during the winter holiday season. Accordingly, from November 24, 2003, to January 16, 2004, Prospect Park will be open 24 hours a day to motorists except on weekends and holidays, when it will be closed.

By Hannah Gersen

Here’s a glimpse of Riverside Park through the eyes of the narrator of Paul Auster’s novel, City of Glass, published in 1985:

"On most days he spent at least several hours in Riverside Park, walking methodically along the macadam footpaths or else thrashing through the bushes with a stick. His quest for objects did not abate amidst the greenery. Stones, leaves, and twigs all found their way into his bag. Once, Quinn observed, he even stooped down for a dried dog turd, sniffed it carefully, and kept it. It was in the park, too, that Stillman rested. In the afternoon, often following his lunch, he would sit on a bench and gaze across the Hudson. Once, on a particularly warm day, Quinn saw him sprawled out on the grass, asleep."

"The gods too are fond of a joke."

(384-322 B.C.)