Prospect Lefferts Gardens is ready to grill!
Local elected officials and Prospect Park honchos celebrated the installation of new public grills located on the Prospect Lefferts Gardens side of Brooklyn’s Backyard on May 24, bringing $80,000 worth of cooking equity to the less barbecue-friendly side of the meadow.
Cooking in Prospect Park is restricted to 15 designated grill zones, 10 of which are located on the west side of the park where it borders Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Prospect Heights — leaving only five grill-friendly areas for park patrons hailing from Kensington, Ditmas Park, and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
So, it should come as no surprise that constituents living within Councilman Mathieu Eugene’s district — which includes Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park, and parts of Kensington — voted to fund the new outdoor cooking appliances via participatory budgeting, according to the park’s chief steward.
“From the high number of votes in the participatory budgeting process, we know these grills are a welcome, new addition to the park for the east-side communities,” said Sue Donoghue, president of the Prospect Park Alliance, a group which works with the city to maintain the park.
The new outdoor cooking appliances appear as three separate grills joined together, and are similar models to barbecues located in Brooklyn Bridge Park, according to Prospect Park Alliance spokeswoman Deborah Kirschner.
Two of the new triple-grills were installed near the Lincoln Road entrance to the park near Ocean Avenue, while another two have been installed near the entrance at Parkside and Ocean avenues.
There are a few rules governing cooking in the park, but locals are welcome to throw a steak on the barbie whenever they please, as long as their gatherings are restricted to 20 people or less, in which case an events permit must acquired through the Parks Department.
