The $24 million project has already been backed by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, City Councilmembers, the Borough Presidents of Brooklyn and the Bronx, and community advocates; however, there is staunch opposition within the community.

Green vs. Concrete

Isabel Broyer, president of CuRBA, whose mission is to preserve and improve community quality of life and jointly seek solutions to the community’s problems, said, “Ultimately, it’s about green versus concrete; a green space versus an arena; a community space vs. a destination venue.”

“I do not want a world-class arena in my backyard,” one resident explained. “Put in a little skateboard park, I don’t care. But I don’t want an arena stadium; I don’t want lights; I don’t want music; I don’t want events coming to this neighborhood. We already have world-class institutions that bring people here. We are a place that needs quiet.”

The keys to this are [Skateboard Project founder] Tony Hawk and [Councilmember] Crystal Hudson (D-35, representing Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and parts of Crown Heights and Bedford Stuyvesant), said another community member. 

“If either one of these people feels enough pain, this thing is gone,” he noted. “And the reason they will feel pain is because of public pressure. The day Tony Hawk thinks he looks bad for this, the money will move; the day Crystal Hudson says, ‘Oh my lord, I’m going to have election issues,’ this project will be gone.”

“This is a David and Goliath issue,” said another resident. “We are David; we are little, but look how many Davids are in this room,” she pointed out.

Benjamin Lowe, community member and co-chair of Friends of Mount Prospect Park (a community group focused on preserving and enhancing the green space here for all who visit), said he has a very specific objective: “to protect and enhance the green space in Mount Prospect Park.”

“We have a petition on our website — friendsofmountprospectpark.org — and we’ve been talking to our community and building a coalition of people who are able to act,” Lowe said.

Hayley Gorenberg, co-chair of Friends of Mount Prospect Park and a resident of the neighborhood for some 30 years, urged the captive audience to get involved.

“Tell your friends and neighbors to sign our petition,” Gorenberg said, adding that even something as small as taking a walk in the park, taking some photos, and posting it to Instagram, making it clear that this park is used and valued and loved — can make a difference.

“We are very much on the right track; but we have to keep it up.” 

However, not everyone in attendance at the meeting was opposed to the idea of a skate park. 

Chris Mischler, a local resident, said he is “a huge proponent” of it, and Mount Prospect is “the perfect location.”

“There have not been improvements made to this park for some time, and it’s been deteriorating,” Mischler said. “But now there will be. I also love the fact that it will not only attract locals but people from all over. It’s really a huge opportunity for the skaters and for the city.”

A CEO’s Perspective 

With the exception of Mischler, proponents of the skate park did not attend the meeting.

However, in an exclusive interview with the Brooklyn Eagle, Benjamin Anderson Bashein, CEO of The Skatepark Project, explained that he thinks there is a lot of confusion, misinformation, and assumptions about what the park will be like.

“While some of the park will be concrete because there will be skate elements to it, we aren’t taking anyone’s nature away,” Bashein said. 

“What people need to understand is that Brooklyn Skate Garden will be less than 12 percent of Mount Prospect Park. The park is 340,000 plus square feet. And that 12% will include new walkways, a community garden, new trees — the actual paved skate space is a fraction of that 12 percent.

“Yes, the total development will be 40,000 square feet — but that will be the total development, which includes all of the work we are doing, including new gardens and walking paths.

“There is plenty of green space here, Bashein said. “We just want to use a small part of it for the thousands of skaters, BMX riders, scooter riders, inline skaters, and roller skaters in the city that need a place to go. 

“We are simply responding to the demand. And a small skate park would not satisfy that demand. There just aren’t enough places for kids to skate safely.”

With regard to the noise factor, Bashein explained that that is a misnomer. 

“Concrete skate parks are relatively quiet,” he said. “It’s similar to a playground. And whatever noise there is will be absorbed by the new trees, gardens, and bushes that are going to be put there. In addition, we will be utilizing several sound buffering techniques. Plus, no park is open all night, so things will be shut down at a reasonable hour, for sure.”

Public safety is also a primary concern, as the park will be up on a hill, and it has two exits — one right by the entrance of the Botanical Gardens and the stairway exit on the other end near the entrance to the children’s reading room of the museum. And both are often crowded with people and could potentially be accidents waiting to happen.

To that point, Bashein said that “a comprehensive safety and usability approach will be conducted to ensure that we make entrance and exit ramp modifications to make certain that it’s safe.”

“The goal is for this to be safer than kids out skating on the street in traffic — and for pedestrians as well.” 

Bashein pointed out that there are always people who don’t want whatever is coming into their community — who don’t advocate change.

“But I’m hopeful that once community members see that this is going to be a multi-use space — that it’s going to be beautifully integrated into the park and the local environment — perhaps they will be more accepting of this idea,” Bashein said, adding that “This is actually going to lead to more trees being planted, and better ecology for the park — where it’s currently having drainage issues.”

Bashein noted that a community meeting is planned for the end of March, whereby the public will have their chance to offer input, suggestions and make their voices heard regarding the skate park. Attendees are slated to include the New York City Parks Department, Councilmember Crystal Hudson, and members of The Skatepark Project, according to Bashein.

As for a timeline, Bashein said everything should be completed within the next 18 months.

“That’s our target time. It’s supported by the mayor, councilmembers, Brooklyn Parks, and thousands of locals. This is definitely happening.”