Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, August 28, 2000

“PROSPECTS” LOOK GREAT AT THE RIBBON CUTTING FOR NEWLY RESTORED PARK ENTRANCE

Photo by Jamye (Focus) Ford

On Thursday, August 24, Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern, Council Member Una (Poinsettia) Clarke, and Prospect Park Administrator and Alliance President Tupper (Forsythia) Thomas were present to announce the grand reopening of Prospect Park's Parkside & Ocean Avenues entrance following a one-year, $1 million restoration. Congo Square Drummers and children from Grace Pre-School entertained park visitors with their musical stylings before and after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Parkside and Ocean Avenues entrance is the second mostly heavily used entrance to Prospect Park, leading to many of the park's main attractions-the Zoo, Lefferts Homestead, the Carousel, and the Lincoln Road and Imagination Playgrounds. The entrance, which was in need of repair, now looks better than ever. Many of the bricks in the Plaza's entrance were removed and reset. Workers also had the task of repainting the 1904 Pergola an eggshell white after stripping off six layers of old paint and graffiti. Wisteria vines hang over the colonnades, giving park visitors a hint of the tranquil space inside the park. The lawn around the entrance has been re-seeded, the pathways have been re-paved, and new benches have been installed. Finally, a handcrafted rustic shelter, designed by Architectural Preservationist Paul Daley of the Alliance and built by artist Curtis Barnhart of Long Island, has been added to the southeastern peninsula of the Lake, recreating the original structure designed by Calvert Vaux.

The restoration of the Parkside & Ocean Avenues entrance is part of an ongoing effort to restore and preserve the 526-acre park for generations to come.

SOUNDS OF CHARLIE PARKER MOVE UPTOWN FOR FESTIVAL'S EIGHTH YEAR

For the past eight years, the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has taken place in Tompkins Square Park, right across the street from Parker's former home. This year, the festival expanded into a two-day event, bringing the smooth and snappy sounds of a variety of world-class jazz artists to Marcus Garvey Park at 122nd St. On Saturday, August 26, the music of Bobby Sanabria y Ascension, Irene Reid Quartet, Winard Harper Sextet, David Glasser Quartet with Norman Simmons and Clark Terry, and the Lou Donaldson Quartet featuring Dr. Lonnie Smith pleased the ears of uptown New Yorkers and jazz fans from throughout the area. The 20.2 acre park was renamed in honor of Marcus Garvey, the black leader who strived to promote racial pride and black economic independence, in 1973. The festival closed out on Sunday, back in its original groove in Tompkins Square Park.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, August 31, 1987)

A VISITING MAYOR KOCH MEETS PARKS MANAGERS

Mayor Edward I. Koch came to the Arsenal at 7:45 A.M. last Friday to meet with Commissioner Stern and parks managers to discuss agency policies and operations. It was his 20th visit to a city agency this year. In the hour or so that the Mayor was in the third floor conference room, almost every major current issue in the agency was touched upon. As various managers fielded questions, the topics covered included the status of city zoos, the Neighborhood Parks Restoration program, the complex program of the homeless in city parks, projects undertaken by the Natural Resources Group, tree pruning and tree stump removal.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

How to be green? Many people have asked us this important question. It's really very simple and requires no expert knowledge or complex skills. Here's the answer. Consume less. Share more. Enjoy life.

Penny Kemp (b. 1951) and Derek Wall (b.1965)