Prospect Heights and Crown Heights residents voiced both support and concern for a scaled-down plan for a new skate park at Mount Prospect Park on Tuesday.
Over 100 people packed Community Board 8’s Parks, Youth and Education Committee meeting, where Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Martin Maher presented details on the $11 million plan. Originally planned to span about 40,000-square-feet, the skate park will now total 19,500-square-feet, and is expected to take about a year to complete. The Parks Department said it will also plant 19 new trees and will transform the park into a mixed-use green and skate park.
Many local skaters have thrown their support behind the project, which involves the Skatepark Project, a nonprofit founded by professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, but naysayers were also in attendance.
“We don't want to get rid of skate improvements. We want to keep Mount Prospect Park green and shift concrete construction elsewhere,” said Hayley Gorenberg, president of Friends of Mount Prospect Park, an advocacy group pushing to migrate the skatepark to a different location.
“The fact that that is inconvenient or annoying to people who made a deal in secret doesn't stop us,” said Gorenberg, referring to the Adams administration that first announced the project in 2024.
While the last major meeting on the topic sparked outbursts from both anti- and pro-skatepark advocates, Tuesday night’s gathering unfolded with little to no tension, a stark contrast. Community Board 8 Chair Kimberly Watson opened the forum with a disclaimer to keep attendees calm: “We have to keep the space safe and we have to keep the space as respectful as possible."
Both Watson and Maher said the meeting’s emphasis was on gathering input and discussing details regarding the preliminary designs. City Council Member Crystal Hudson, who supports building the skatepark, said the heated public engagement over the past two years were ultimately helpful.
"I think that all of the debate and fervor over this project has made the project better,” said Hudson.
The Friends of Mount Prospect Park, who rallied ahead of the meeting to raise awareness of their opposition, said they have asked Mayor Zohran Mamdani for assistance through a petition with Community Board 9.
Norman Zuckerman, a longtime Brooklynite who lives across from the park, told BK Reader the Parks Department should do an environmental review before digging into the ground.
Despite strong support from local skaters, some expressed dissatisfaction with the preliminary design.
“It is a little bit cookie cutter, in my opinion. It kind of reflects the narrative of every other skate park. And there's not a lot of uniqueness in the design … although the concept is really cool, I'm not, like, super sold on the design itself,” said Jack Westmeier, a 24-year-old skater from Sunset Park.
When asked by BK Reader what she thought about the opposition to the project, Council Member Hudson noted how "change is hard."
"I think what's been really important and informative about all of these public meetings is that people, every different perspective and every different opinion, have an opportunity to express those perspectives and opinions," she said. "And it is our job as public officials and city employees to make sure that we're taking all of that feedback into consideration.”
A date has not been set for the start of construction.
