Access and Equity in Prospect Park

Informal entrance (Opposite Parade Grounds)

Peristyle entrance ( North side, Parkside Ave)

Parkside Ave X Parade Pl (site of former entrance) 

Removed park bench (North side, Parkside Ave) 

Grass patch (North side,  Parkside Ave)

Footprint of park bench (North side, Parkside Avenue)

Prospect Park is a 585-acre park in Brooklyn, NY that is bordered by Park Slope, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park, Windsor Terrace and Flatbush. With the exception of the Parkside Ave corridor, Prospect Park can be accessed from numerous formal entrances along its Prospect Park West, Prospect Park Southwest, and Flatbush Avenue corridors.

Users of Prospect Park who access the park along the Parkside Avenue corridor are faced with a dilemma- the absence of formal access points between the distant entrances located at Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Avenue. This presents two disquieting options. The first involves using the two informal, man-made points near the Peristyle; during the Labor Day weekend, these "entrances" are closed off by the 70 Precinct. The second requires walking to entrances at Parkside and Coney Island Avenues. In the absence of formal entrances/arbitrary closure of the informal ones, users living between Parkside and Ocean Avenues are shut out off from the southern approach of the park.

When compared with the Park Slope and Windsor Terrace sides of the park, the Flatbush-Ditmas Park side shows ample signs of indifference. In cleanliness, landscaping, and care of outdoor furniture (benches, garbage bins), the Parkside Avenue corridor of the park remains underdeveloped and underutilized.

The absence of formal access points to Prospect Park along an already unwelcoming gate and general neglect of the Parkside Avenue corridor preclude the Flatbush-Ditmas Park from equitable access of pubic space. It points to the imminent need for a transformation in the design of the park and its relationship to the built environment.