Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, February 28, 2011

Prospect Park Welcomes Emily Lloyd!

Photo by Paul Martinka

Parks is thrilled to welcome Emily Lloyd, the new Prospect Park Administrator and Prospect Park Alliance President. The Daily Plant recently spoke to Emily about her new positions.

Daily Plant: Welcome to Parks! What are some of your personal favorite features of Prospect Park?

Emily Lloyd: It seems like I’m discovering or rediscovering new favorite spots almost every day now, like the Revolutionary War history markers at Battle Pass. The Park is designed so there are so many dramatic views of the meadows, lake and woodlands. It all looks especially beautiful in the early morning light. But perhaps the Nethermead is my favorite spot: you come through the Ravine and it feels like you’ve found an undiscovered meadow. My family and I have lived in Park Slope for 27 years and my children grew up enjoying the Park’s playgrounds, playing soccer, tennis and of course sledding on the Long Meadow during the winter.

Daily Plant: Which projects do you most particularly look forward to overseeing during your tenure as Park Administrator and Alliance President?

Emily Lloyd: The Lakeside Center, along with the restoration of the lake itself, is really such a perfect project. The Olmsted and Vaux design for the Park already welcomes recreational spaces and uses so well. Lakeside is elegantly designed, provides more opportunities for year-round recreational activities and adds additional greenspace to the Park. There’s really no downside to the project. I used to spend many winter days with my family going skating at the old Wollman Rink and look forward to continuing this tradition at Lakeside. When you see kids having fun ice skating or roller skating, they look so free. They love doing it, and because it’s at a parks facility it’s safe; so their parents love it too.

Daily Plant: What are your priorities in ensuring that Prospect Park continues to thrive?

Emily Lloyd: We will work closely with and listen to the surrounding community as to their goals for the Park. And we will continue to increase use of the Park while protecting the Olmsted and Vaux design and the Park’s natural environment. It’s also important to maintain the partnership between the City and the Prospect Park Alliance. This partnership is the foundation for all the improvements and success of restoring the Park over the past decades. Commissioner Benepe is so dedicated to Prospect Park and has been especially supportive of the work of the Alliance so I look forward to continued collaborations.

P.E.P. BLOTTER

On February 8 at 12:55 a.m., PEP Officers Daniel Gitel and Thomas Pomposello were patrolling Randall’s Island on a request that they had received from Deputy Administrator Eric Peterson. Eric encountered a male sleeping in a shed-like structure by the New Vehicle Compound on January 31 when he and others were participating in the HOPE Count, which is a yearly event where individuals span out across the five boroughs in search of any homeless individuals living on the streets. The individual was warned at that point and offered services from the Department of Homeless Services.

During the patrol of Randall’s, the 37-year-old male was observed sleeping on a mattress inside the structure once again. At this point he was placed under arrest and taken to the 25th Precinct where he was charged with Criminal Trespassing in the 3rd degree.

It should be noted that this individual was known to PEP and has been previously summonsed and arrested on prior occasions for curfew violations on the Island.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Every time an Oscar is given out, an agent gets his wings.”

Kathy Bates
(1948 - )