D.B. May 20, 2013 at 12:18 pm
The Nethermead still shows damage from last year's GM. So does the Wellhouse Drive near the…Read More Nethermead. The damaged turf in both areas was reseeded but not protected adequately.
After several weeks of people playing soccer on the reseeded Nethermead areas, the park finally got around to staking them off. Due to dry weather and a poor reseeding method (very few seeds could be seen) the grass did not grow in well.
The Wellhouse Drive was not staked off. The park's garbage trucks and other vehicles drove over the reseeded area right away. This is why there is a wide strip of packed dirt next to the (newly paved) Drive.
I find this is typical of much of the work done in the park. There seems to be very little supervision, expertise and follow up.
One of my pet peeves is the indiscriminate dumping of wood chips on grassy areas, killing the grass. This seems to happen especially in the southern areas of the park. (Why was a mound of chips dumped over 2 months ago on a grassy area near the Rustic Shelter/West Drive? This area was staked off for about 2 years to regrow the grass!)
If there is damage to the grass, why not reseed instead of covering everything with wood/christmas tree chips (as was done near the Park Circle)?
For 2 years workers dumped chips on beautiful thick growing grass under the Willow Oak on the Peninsula. The chips were left in a pile and killed the grass. The mounds were eventually worn down by years of kids playing on them. Now you can see patches of wood chips where once grass grew.
P.S. Why does the park use Monsanto's Roundup? This herbicide is extremely toxic to humans and wildlife. A Prospect Park Alliance worker once told me that "the city makes them do it".... Really?
I am also concerned about the Lakeside year round roller/ice skating rink. I hope NO MUSIC will be played during the warm months. It will spoil large areas of the park.
Dudley Escobar May 20, 2013 at 11:33 am
I agree completely that there were some mistakes. Advertising an event as "rain or shine"…Read More when it clearly isn't was a mistake. Sending out notices that there are tickets an hour before they cancel it was a HUGE mistake. There was clearly some miscommunication between Superly, the Parks Dept and attendees.
I just don't want to see these minor bumps be used as an argument for never having events like this in the park. Despite its troubles, GoogaMooga is a great idea and everyone I know who attended on Saturday had a great time. The park wasn't destroyed and obvious effort was taken to preserve it for the duration of the summer. I live as close to the Nethermead as one possibly can, and I spend a lot of time in that area of the park. I am as invested as anyone in making sure it stays nice.
We should be advocating for more events like this (done properly), not less. Yes, we and the agencies involved in monitoring these events should remain vigilant. But that doesn't mean tarring and feathering Superfly over a couple of hiccups.
Calling them "money-grubbing" and suggesting that the park will be a "total mess" when it clearly wasn't last year and won't be this year...it's hyperbolic and gives Brooklynites a (perhaps deserved) reputation as whiners and complainers.
MC May 20, 2013 at 11:20 am
@Dudley, Superfly did not cancel it. The Parks Department did. Superfly told people there were…Read More tickets available at the gate in anticipation of low turn-out due to rain 45 minutes before it was canceled! If they had any inkling they were canceling, that was extremely bad management on their part.
Furthermore, everyone but the vendors get paid. The permit fees are non-refundable, and those vendor fees are non-refundable. The event advertised as rain or shine not weather-dependent. Likely, there is a clause that further limits any liability because they did not cancel it themselves.
I don't care that the event was cancelled. It happens. But it was irritating at how poorly it was all managed yet again. But that's what people have come to expect so maybe it's what Superfly is going for. It surely is getting them a ton of press.
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All Boards » Martine Beudert May 14, 2013 at 12:14 am
Would like to come by and take a look at the bike. Plz call 917-887-3996
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