Politicians, residents, and advocates walk to demand greener, safer public space in Brooklyn

A group concerned with rapid development in Brooklyn has started to look at what park space is still available for residents to enjoy in a particular segment of the borough.

Elected officials, local NYCHA residents, parks advocates, and neighborhood organizers took part in a walking tour last month from Fort Greene Park to the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The May 9 “Walk & Talk” tour, organized by New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P), was designed to look at the green space available in this fast-changing section of northern Brooklyn.

With residential development on the increase in the area, advocates have argued that more public investment in green spaces is needed. Tour organizers noted that more green spaces are especially needed in and around the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)’s Walt Whitman and Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses, where more than 12,000 residents live. Black and working-class residents in these buildings tend to use public land in the area as their backyards and as relief from heat, traffic, and overcrowding.

The Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene area has long housed a prominent Black community that, in the early 19th century, began working in shipbuilding and domestic labor in the Fort Greene-Wallabout area. That work extended into the Navy Yard during World War II, which led to the construction of the Walt Whitman and Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses for Navy Yard workers.

However, the New York City Department of City Planning noted in 2021 that the racial demographics of these northwest Brooklyn neighborhoods changed from 2010 to 2020, as more white and Asian residents moved in and Black populations decreased. By 2020, the Fort Greene neighborhood had 32,938 residents, with 9,896 Black non-Hispanic residents — or 30% of the neighborhood population. Tour organizers pointed to the more than 22,000 housing units that have been completed in the larger Downtown Brooklyn area since rezoning in 2004 and argued that green space expansion has not kept pace with residential development.

“Brooklynites should not have to leave their neighborhood to find quality parks and open spaces,” said a representative from Borough President Antonio Reynoso’s office. In addition, Hunter Armstrong of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative said, “I would like to live in New York, live in Brooklyn, so that I’m not risking my life or watching other people risk their lives to visit our parks like Fort Greene Park.” Tour participants included staff from Reynoso’s office; Department of Transportation officials; and members of New Yorkers for Parks, the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, Friends of Commodore Barry Park, Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership, and the Brooklyn Public Library; NYCHA resident leaders; and neighborhood advocates.

At the Whitman Houses, tenant association president Julie Sharpton spoke about the planned revival of local garden space and how community gardens at NYCHA developments can break isolation and build ties among cultures and ages. “It’s an opportunity for residents to come together and break down cultural barriers,” Sharpton said, describing the shared growing space as a place where neighbors exchange food, recipes, and traditions. Amanda Centeno of the Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnership said merchants and residents had repeatedly asked for “more green space, more beautification” in a district needs assessment. She described the Victory Love Garden effort as one answer to that call.

At Commodore Barry Park, residents and advocates spoke about recent improvements to the park’s restrooms and plans for a dog run, track upgrades, and more community programming.

Tour organizers pointed out that there are plans for a new community garden at Whitman Houses; expanded support for open streets; stronger north-south and east-west bike-and-pedestrian connections; improvements along the Flushing Avenue Greenway corridor; and a possible Fort Greene Improvement District that could direct dedicated resources toward parks and open space east of Flatbush Avenue. They also pointed out the newly redesigned Cumberland Gate and landscaped public space now open at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.