Yes, Americans are in full-fledged voter fatigue after the interminable Democratic primaries, but for Williamsburg and Greenpoint residents, it’s time to gird up to rock the vote once again.
The neighborhood’s own McCarren Park, located in Greenpoint and bounded by Nassau Avenue and Bayard, Leonard and North 12th streets, was recently nominated for Best Playground/Park in Brooklyn for Little Ones as part of the first annual Parents’ Picks Awards, a nationwide contest sponsored by Nickelodeon, the children’s television network.
Online voting began on May 19, and will continue through June 30.
The Parents’ Picks Awards are designed to identify the best community resources in 52 major U.S. cities. Categories run the gamut from best kids’ museum to best toy store to many more.
Nominees were selected by the web site’s local editors.
In its division, McCarren is up against a handful of other Brooklyn parks including Prospect Park; Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park; Narrows Botanical Gardens; and Fort Greene Park.
Speculation around the neighborhood was that McCarren was not nominated for its playground per se, a serviceable but unspectacular playground across Driggs Avenue from Park Luncheonette. Rather, the nomination represented an acknowledgment of the variety of children’s activities the park hosts.
The Greenpoint Little League and Greenpoint-Williamsburg Youth Soccer League are well-run operations on par with any youth sports league in Brooklyn.
The park also boasts the SummerStarz series, the popular family series hosted by Town Square, the community local civic group.
Entering its fourth year, the SummerStarz will take place every Wednesday in the park from July 9 through September 10. In addition to a movie screening, each night includes “kids hour,” an hour set aside for children featuring music, arts and crafts, dancing, and cultural workshops.
This year, the park also played host to the area’s first ever Earth Day festival, a multi-faceted event hosted by Town Square that featured environmental education, interactive family fun, and music.
(This year, the festival became an object of controversy surrounding the sponsorship of Exxon/Mobil, a villain among many community members because of its foot-dragging in cleaning up much of the oil spill in Newtown Creek, for which it is largely responsible.)
The park also hosts the annual PS 132 kite festival, one of Williamsburg most colorful traditions in which hand-made kites by the resourceful parents of PS 132 take over the sky.
Park Moms, another active organization, hosts the McCarren Park Live series every summer, featuring three live performances for children.
“It’s a nice enough playground, but I suspect [ParentsConnect] is responding to all the events in the park for kids,” said Susan Anderson, chairperson of Town Square. “This is really a tribute to the parents and children in the community.”
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To register to vote, go to www.gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/ParentsPicks/register.htm.
On July 15, ParentsConnect.com will announce the winners of the competition on its website.
