From Brooklyn Paper: “Protecting the Fort: Landmarks commission says Ft. Greene Park plans alter creator’s vision..”
The Department of Parks and Recreations’s plans to makeover an entrance to Fort Greene Park do not reflect the vision of the green space’s creators and honchos must go back to the drawing board, the Landmarks Preservation Commission ruled at a Thursday hearing.
“It seems to be sort of against every one of the historic moments in the design of the park,” said commissioner Adi Shamir-Baron.…
…history buffs contended that planner Frederick Law Olmsted would prefer the grassy knolls over a paved walkway because park-goers can hang out on them.”
Our own Chinatown/LES advocate and now Commissioner on Landmarks Preservation Commission – Wellington Chen weighed in:
“[The hills] seem to be a very large gathering place, versus more of a passageway,” said commissioner Wellington Chen. “If you’re saying I can perform many programs on a passageway, that’s true. However, that’s not what Olmsted intended, which is a public gathering place.”
and this…
“We’ve seen many examples of critical and beautiful historic parks where the entrance is not the apex of a parallelogram and they’ve worked successfuly,” said commissioner Meenaksh Srinivasan.
To be continued…
