Douglass/Greene Park Design Plans Approved

The parks, recreation and cultural affairs committee approved the Parks Department's new design plans for the Douglass/ Greene Park renovation at a meeting last night. of this Boerum Hill Park on Third Avenue for years. The preliminary design plans were presented by Martin Maher, Chief of Staff in the Brooklyn Parks Department.

Park renovation is slated to happen in phases because so far there is only funding for phase one. At this point, only the landscaping, play area and spray shower and sitting area on the Third Avenue side of the park are funded.

The new seating area includes "recycled" benches with vintage-style details such as iron armrests, and reinforced picnic tables which will be mounted into the ground to prevent their theft.

Skate park designs were also unveiled, featuring both "East Coast" and "West Coast" skate park designs, the former meaning "East Coast" characteristics like steps, the latter referring to ramps and a half-pipe.

The rest of the park will remain open during construction of Phase One.

The dozen or so people in attendance were, overall, excited about the plans.

"I love the whole curvy concept of it," said Maria Pagano, President of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. "I love the novelty of the greenness of it, the recycled pieces... overall, the concept of a community space. I love the idea of a community space that is opened and shared."

Some concerns were also discussed. During the Q & A session, Department of Environmental Protection Project Manager Henry Willems asked about possible at the site.

After the discussion, committee co-chair Nica Lalli took a vote for both the short and long term conceptual design plans. Both passed. The plans now go before the full Community Board, though Lalli said not to expect anything before the March 9 general board meeting.

The committee also discussed other concerns related to the park, mainly how to raise money to maintain the park. One idea suggested was concessions to earn revenue and pay for maintenance expenses.

Keeping the park clean and free of litter was also a topic on people's minds.

Maher said he hopes to begin construction by the spring of 2012, with the project taking about a year to complete.

"I think the plans look amazing," said Bruce McDonald, President of Friends of Carroll Park. "It's astounding that nearly a million dollars were corralled to renovate any park in our district, and I just hope it's a harbinger of being able to make capital improvements to a lot more of the parks in our neighborhoods."

***

Correction: An earlier version of this article reported the skate park is already funded.