July 6, 2009: Vol. 32, No. 27

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July 6, 2009 / Brooklyn news / Park Slope / Meadows of Shame

What a dump! Prospect Park was a real mess this weekend

By Gersh Kuntzman

The Brooklyn Paper

Like the rest of you, we stay right here in Brooklyn during summer weekends — and, like you, we were pretty disgusted by the way Prospect Park looked during the long July 4 holiday.

We took some pictures, but when we rolled into the office on Monday, sure enough, our Inbox was filled with missives from Park Slopers who shared our concern that the borough was treating its emerald jewel like a toilet.

Heaven By Russo

Here was our favorite (and not only because it plugged us!):

To the editor,

Please pass this along to the Parks Department, since this was the closest e-mail address I could find.

I bike ride around the Park every Sunday morning, and the garbage left in certain areas (Ninth Street and Parkside Avenue) is beyond disgusting.

BoroDeal

There is no excuse for folks using the Park as their backyard to leave their garbage strewn about, but the real stupidity is that there are not enough garbage cans left in these popular areas.

So, I humbly suggest that folks start getting fined for littering or that the Park get its act together and leave enough garbage cans (or both!).

I’ve copied The Brooklyn Paper, as I am sure I am not the only Park lover distressed by this horrible situation.

Josie Marino, Park Slope

Marino’s was not the only letter we received, so we called the Prospect Park Alliance to find out what’s going on.

QUOTE

Patron, 718-965-8954/917-501-5881

There were people working all weekend. sanitation closes the dump on holidays and weekends. on saturday, the brooklyn dump was supposed to be open, but it wasn’t. so our drivers have to go to queens, but it had limited hours.

←The Best Thing We Ate This Week: No ‘truffle’ eating this whole pie

→Cyclones: Cyclones get their ‘Fuller’ of Tri-City

Reader Feedback

Michele from Kensington says:

There is a new group on Facebook called Tupper Thomas' Prospect Park. We are trying to save the Park from illegal BBQs, heaps of litter and the subsequent explosion of the rat population. We want the park to enforce laws regarding BBQs and litter instead of turning a blind eye. Since Tupper Thomas is the head Administrator we are trying to show her why she needs to act to stop the destruction of the park asap. Check out the Facebook site and join if you want to; and most importantly, contribute! This article would be perfect for our new site (started this morning after a horrible weekend).

July 6, 2009, 3:22 pm

al pankin from downtown says:

the park management is inept and they have allowed people to turn the park into a dump. they look the other way on every issue.
it's BBQ heaven.it looks like orchard beach. let these folks try this in central park. the city should throw out whoever is in charge, if they could find the person. they are probably hanging around central park anyway.

July 6, 2009, 3:47 pm

Park lover from Fort Greene says:

It's not just Prospect Park: Fort Greene Park was full of BBQers on Saturday, and Saturday night hosted a party that seemed to involve well over a hundred people and an illegal sound system. The park was a mess on Sunday morning. Why don't the police do anything? Or the Parks Department?

July 6, 2009, 4:19 pm

trace from park slope says:

I like the used diapers stuck in the trees. That is my favorite!

July 6, 2009, 4:46 pm

David from Park Slope says:

I can't for the life of me understand why people aren't ticketed for grilling under trees. It's so obvious and so easy to enforce. Dog owners are routinely ticketed for having dogs off leash after designated hours; why can't illegal BBQers get theirs? Perhaps we could use the proceeds from the citations for additional garbage cans...

July 6, 2009, 4:53 pm

Rocky from South Brooklyn says:

You know something, it was the first real summer weekend ... it rained through May and June ... so just about every park and beach within 100 miles was packed this weekend. No wonder why everything was a huge mess. People aren't expected to bring their trash back out with them, no? That would be too much. And for once we can't blame one set of people or another ... all sides of the park were equally nasty Sunday night.

July 6, 2009, 6:05 pm

Eric from Park Slope says:

@Rocky,

Why shouldn't we expect people to take their garbage out with them? A reasonable number of trash cans is helpful, but if you come to a can and find it full, does it make any sense to just dump one's garbage next to the can? No.

Pack it in -- pack it out.

July 6, 2009, 10:57 pm

McSlick from Flatbush says:

I think the writer should double check his facts before accusing his fellow Brooklyn residents of commiting crimes. BBQing in the park is not illegal, you are allowed to bring your own grill, tables and chairs, as long as you are not in an area that is marked with signs specifically forbidding it. The park is not just for residents of Park Slope, it belongs to everyone.

July 6, 2009, 11:03 pm

Monica Beaupre from Windsor Terrace says:

To The Editor and Gersh Kuntzman

About Prospect Park, what IS going on there??? I saw Gersh's aricle today, "What A dump! Prospect Park was a real mess this weekend," and couldn't agree more! I'm a jogger and love my early runs in the park, except on the weekends and Monday mornings. It's disgraceful: garbage just strewn everywhere. I can't wait to get done with my run and get out. Isn't that a shame? And, what's with the bar-b-q'ing all over the place? Especially on the PP Southwest side and Parkside Avenue side. What if there's a fire? What about the coals that get dumped all over the grass - doesn't that hurt the park/the environment? Aren't there designated areas for that and permits required? The "lawlessness" that goes on in the park is outrageous. Everyone has the right to enjoy the park - no argument there. It's beautiful place but how long is it going to stay that way with people doing what they want to do -when they want to do it - regardless of rules????

Can't the Parks Dept and Prospect Park Alliance step up and enforce the rules and regulations and protect our park?

July 6, 2009, 11:28 pm

Pacholo from Red Hook says:

Sounds like the Iowans want to take over Prospect Park. Illegal Bar-B-Q's and illegal music get a hold of yourselves this is BROOKLYN!

July 6, 2009, 11:31 pm

Bklyn Dawg from FIDO in Prospect Park says:

Fellowship in the Interest of Dogs and their Owners (FIDO) has been vocal about the increase of trash in the park--especially from some BBQers who leave lots of garbage and food.

This makes for a very unhealthy park experience since the food attracts rats overnight, which breeds disease.

See FIDO's website about this issue: http://www.fidobrooklyn.com/index.html#barkings

July 7, 2009, 12:55 am

RunningMan from Kensington says:

I agree with McSlick, the yuppies are just upset that not everyone is a vegeterian.

July 7, 2009, 5:36 am

RunningMan from Kensington says:

Hey Park Lover from Fort Green, why didn't you just join in on the party, it sounds like fun. And they have always had summer parties in Fort Greene. Why should they stop just because you moved in from Nebraska via Manhattan. And how do you know the sound system was 'illegal', when did you graduate from the police academy?

July 7, 2009, 5:40 am

Chicken Underwear from Park Slope says:

Yes, big mess, I took pictures on Sunday.

http://whatyourdonotknowbecauseyouarenotme.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-mess-in-prospect-park.html

Why does the park wait till Monday to clean?

July 7, 2009, 8:47 am

Park Lover from Fort Greene says:

Running Man: I know the sound system was illegal because the police don't give sound permits on holiday weekends. The party wasn't fun: we walked by around 10:00 at night; a lot of the people there were stoned/drunk, and a fight broke out that was really scary.

For the record, I've never lived in Nebraska or Manhattan, but I've lived in Brooklyn since 1991.

July 7, 2009, 10:41 am

henry from South Slope says:

pigs
no other way to describe anyone who leaves behind that mess.

and for the record i was born and raised here so don't try to pull some "this is brooklyn" or class warfare crap...

July 7, 2009, 10:57 am

henry from South Slope says:

McSlick, you are wrong

bbq-ing is ONLY allowed in designated areas, and is ILLEGAL everywhere else.

Get a clue

July 7, 2009, 10:59 am

Brian Henry from Park Slope says:

On Mondays, after I walk my dog, I volunteer with a couple of other people (Fido) to pick up trash for 3 hours. This Monday was the worst. Still, by 1:00 most areas were cleaner. I even found someones i-phone and returned it to her. There is an old saying, Better to light one candle than curse the darkness. If everyone who causually visits the park picked up one piece of trash maybe we could have a tipping point. As for weekends, how about distributing heavy duty trash bags to obvious picnicers and barbecuers and establishing drop off points and enforce it with a summons if necessary.

July 7, 2009, 11:29 am

McSlick from Flatbush says:

Show me the law, Henry from South Slope.

And Fort Greene Park Lover, if you've lived in BK since '91 you should be used to it by now.

All I saw this weekend was a bunch of people celebrating our independence in a fun, free spirited way, and I was at Coney Island on Saturday and Prospect Park on Sunday.

July 7, 2009, 2:36 pm

Dirt in ur Skirt from BKLYN says:

Hey this is stimulating the economy. We now have to hire someone to clean up the mess. That means JOBS!! Dirty jobs but still a job. I say Let'em live eat and be FREE!!
But please curb your dog kids and spouses!!!

July 7, 2009, 2:51 pm

Factual from Brooklyn says:

McSlick from Flatbush says: "Show me the law, Henry from South Slope."

Get real, McSlick. The law is at
http://www.prospectpark.org/visit/plan/safety#general
Under "General Rules of Park Use," it says, "Barbecue only in designated areas."

If that’s not official enough for you, see
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/rules_and_regulations/rr_1-05.html
The BBQ restriction is under subdivision (m), "Unlawful Fires."
[And just FYI -- restrictions on sound eqipment are listed under (d): “Noise; Musical Instruments; Sound Reproduction Devices”]

July 7, 2009, 3:17 pm

Bike Racer from Parkslope says:

As a person who uses the park 6-7 days a week to train . I found this weekend to be the worst I have ever seen and I have been using the park for training since 1997.

Its crazy to think that one would abuse such a fantastic resource in a city where for most this is their only back yard (me for one)

Shame on the parks department for allowing this to happen.

BR

July 7, 2009, 3:35 pm

Brooklynite from Brooklyn says:

Yeah, that's always the answer to every form of uncivil behavior by miscreants: "This is Brooklyn -- get used to it."

How 'bout we don't get used to it? How 'bout people take responsibility for their garbage and behavior? How 'bout all the people who demand "respect" show a little themselves?

Prospect Park is for everyone, and people need to consider all the other users. You want to turn your own home or yard into a ——hole, feel free. But a public park? As henry said above: "get a clue."

July 7, 2009, 4:38 pm

Dog Walker from Windsor Terrace says:

I walk my dogs seen days a week in Prospect Park. The problem with garbage has been going on for a long time. If my dog is off-leash at the wrong time, I'm sure to get a ticket. Illegal grilling and dumping coals on the lawn and against trees are never ticketed. Also the park has very few bathrooms so the wooded areas around the lawns become a huge human waste dump, not just diapers. Along with the garbage this makes the park a health hazard. Even with the garbage bagged up. the raccoons come out at night and strew it all over the place. In the mornings the dogs go at it which is unhealthy for the dogs. There is selective enforcement in Prospect Park. If you break a off-leash dog rule you will be fined. If you break a BBQ rule the park will overlook it.

July 7, 2009, 4:55 pm

BobI from Park Slope says:

Garbage!

Bag it in! Bag it out!

It works perfectly well in many state parks around the country.

Can't change Brooklyn culture, you say? How about giving it a nudge by making "clean up" easier for picnickers! Prospect Park's dog owner's group, FIDO In Prospect Park, has some simple, creative suggestions on their homepage at www.fidobrooklyn.org that will go a long way to solve the problem...

July 7, 2009, 5:39 pm

Ken Goode` from Windsor Terrace says:

I don't want to come off as an alarmist but the garbage condition in Prospect Park has convinced me that we are facing nothing less the THE TOTAL COLLAPSE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION! OK, maybe that's an overstatement--but not by much. How can the park administrators stand idly by and watch the hard-won restoration of the park reverting back into a cesspool of filth. What are these people thinking! As goes Prospect Park, so goes much of Brooklyn. As goes Brooklyn, so goes much of New York. As goes New York, so goes much of the world. The demoralizing effect of seeing a once beautiful public space trashed by thoughtless pigs and left unprotected by the authorities whose job it is to do so can't be overstated enough. I have friends that took one look at the park this morning and were reduced to tears, swearing to move from New York where things were obviously going to Hell in a handbasket and where nobody seemed to care.

July 20, 2009, 8:37 pm

Ken Goode` from Windsor Terrace says:

Are people actually defending trashing a park as some kind of cultural or regional identity? Because I don't think that anyone would openly and proudly proclaim that one of the characteristics of their culture is to throw garbage on the floor. No one wants to define themselves as the kind of person who generates rat-infested mounds of filth, and anyone claiming otherwise is just a lazy slob trying to hide behind a cultural or regional identity that would certainly want nothing to do with defending or defining themselves by that kind of behavior.

July 20, 2009, 8:51 pm

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