The city just approved plans for a new $11 million skate park in Brooklyn

Brooklyn Community Board 8 voted to approve the $11 million Brooklyn Skate Garden at Mount Prospect Park, clearing a major hurdle after two years of debate. The project will create a 19,500-square-foot skate-focused recreation space between Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Museum, following design reductions from an earlier 40,000-square-foot concept. The facility will include skateboarding, BMX riding, roller skating, and inline skating, plus landscaping, pathways, and seating areas for non-skaters. The city plans to add 19 new trees, native plantings, upgraded walkways, drainage improvements, drinking fountains, and benches. Opponents argue that replacing open lawn with concrete will reduce green space and worsen urban heat-island effects.

"After two years of heated debate, packed public meetings and competing petitions, the proposed Brooklyn Skate Garden at Mount Prospect Park received a major green light when the Brooklyn Community Board 8 voted to approve the $11 million project, moving forward plans for a new skate-focused recreation space between Grand Army Plaza and the Brooklyn Museum. The vote marks one of the biggest milestones yet for a proposal that has divided neighbors while energizing the borough's skateboarding community."

"The project, backed by The Skatepark Project-the nonprofit founded by skateboarding legend Tony Hawk-was originally envisioned as a roughly 40,000-square-foot facility. Following community feedback and opposition from some local residents, the design was cut by more than half and now calls for a 19,500-square-foot skate garden integrated into the existing park landscape."

"Supporters say the project will fill a longstanding gap in Central Brooklyn's recreational infrastructure. Plans include spaces for skateboarding, BMX riding, roller skating and inline skating, alongside new landscaping, pathways and seating areas designed for non-skaters as well. The city says the project will add 19 new trees, native plantings, upgraded walkways, drainage improvements, drinking fountains and benches."

"Opponents, including the advocacy group Friends of Mount Prospect Park, have argued that replacing existing open lawn with concrete will diminish valuable green space and contribute to urban heat-island effects. The group has spent years campaigning against the proposal and pushing"

Read at Time Out New York