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Evidence of the devastation Hurricane Sandy wrought in Prospect Park lingers as weathered tree stumps await removal and yellow police tape rings drooping trees.
But as the once near constant hum of chainsaws and the smell of sawdust begin to give way to early signs of spring, the 568-acre park is readying to turn the page on the catastrophic storm.
Activists and artists transformed metered parking spaces around the city into mini-parks as part of the annual Park(ing) Day festivities. The event, which is intended to sound a call for more open space in urban areas, began in San Francisco in 2005 and has since spread around the world, organizers say.
Four years ago, the City Council passed a law to shed light on how much money was flowing into different parks across the city. Advocates were concerned that the parks system was splitting in two: in wealthy areas of the city, gleaming, innovative green spaces, buttressed by private financing sources; elsewhere, ailing parks with far fewer resources at their disposal.
The legislation required the Department of Parks and Recreation of New York City to prepare an annual report that would detail, park by park, the contributions of nonprofits and other private donors.
Yet the most recent report from the parks department, on the 2010 fiscal year, falls far short of the law’s requirements.
A longtime political operative and two other allies of the Bronx Democratic Party stand to benefit from a controversial plan to develop the site of a former community garden in Mott Haven, the Herald has learned.
In a deal that dates back to the days when Rudy Giuliani was mayor, the Bloomberg administration has continued to grant the three partners, who include the former counsel to the Bronx Democratic Committee, exclusive rights to develop the site on the land at the junction of 149th Street, Southern Boulevard and Prospect Avenue, according to city records.
