We are a 501-c3 non-profit. Your donations to our legal fees are tax deductible! Please help us save the trees and the beings that rely on them.
Parks Without Borders presenters have repeatedly described the north side of the park heavily used by residents as “underutilized", or "sparsely used.” This has caused outcry by residents at public hearings.
When thousands of people voted online for the Parks Without Borders funding from mid-November 2015 until the end of February 2016, NYC Parks promised to turn "hardscapes into greenscapes".
The year after the vote, Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver delivered a cement plaza in Fort Greene Park, dismissing opposition from residents.
A Parks Without Borders presenter said, "“There are some trees planted in the 70s that will need to be removed. They are Norway Maples. They are at the end of their lives. ..., not going to last very long anyway, ..., They are an invasive species and we will be taking the opportunity to remove them". -- statements by NYC Parks at public hearings.
What are the benefits of the large number of trees PWB plans to cut down at Fort Greene Park?
Walt Whitman and Fort Greene Park
Walt Whitman (1819-1892), the chief editor at the time of the Brooklyn Eagle and King’s County Democrat, rallied popular support for the project. Whitman appealed for a pleasant retreat for city dwellers, “a place of recreation… where, on hot summer evenings, and Sundays, they can spend a few grateful hours in the enjoyment of wholesome rest and fresh air.” (NYC Parks)
Parks Without Borders presenters said that the plaza design proposal is in line with what Olmsted and Vaux intended at the northwest corner of Fort Greene Park.
NYC Parks argued that the trees planned for removal block the view of the monument, and were planted too closely together.