The Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park and Riverkeeper are hosting their 8th annual Riverkeeper Sweep this weekend to help clear debris from the Brooklyn waterfront and garden near the East River shore; registration is required.
Volunteers are invited to help in the planting and shore cleanup on Saturday, May 4th, from 10 a.m -1 p.m.:
Volunteers will meet at the Bushwick Inlet Park Community Building, (North 9th Street & Kent Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211), where street parking will be available. We ask all Sweep volunteers to wear sturdy shoes or boots, clothing that they can get dirty, and to bring work gloves, a hat, sunscreen, a reusable water bottle and snacks. This site is suitable for elementary-aged children with proper adult supervision.
Street artists trace the Bushwick Inlet’s underground stream into the surface
Stacy Levyis an internationally known artist who specializes in creating artful, site-specific interventions and engagements with water ecology. This past Saturday, she led an interactive family workshop in Greenpoint, where she and her volunteers mapped the historic Bushwick Inlet directly onto the hardscape using chalk paint: a mixture of chalk powder and water. Greenpointers caught up with Stacy to discuss her activism and the aquatic wonders of our local inlet. Continue reading →
Get Ready to Breathe, Greenpoint! Ever Sunday through September, Greenpoint’s own Hosh Yoga (657 Meeker Avenue) is teaming up with Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park to offer free, donation-based, Bring Your Own Mat Yoga at Bushwick Inlet’s pop-up park at 50 Kent Avenue!
The hour-long sessions will begin at 10am. According to the folks at Bushwick Inlet Park:
Open to all levels and all bodies, this class focuses on the Vinyasa practice of linking breath and movement while flowing from one pose to the next. A great opportunity to get outside this summer, rejuvenate the body, and calm the mind, while taking in some Vitamin D! We will focus on both strength & energy combined with balance & mindfulness. Be prepared for an energetic yet grounding practice that challenges both the mind and body.
Bushwick Inlet seen from The William Vale. Photo: Megan Penmann
What is the future vision for Bushwick Inlet Park, and how should we approach it as a neighborhood connector and from a sustainability standpoint?Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park are hosting another panel discussion, this one will be “focusing on community agency, neighborhood sustainability and environmental justice.” Among the panelists: Diana Reyna, former Deputy Brooklyn Borough President; Susannah C. Drake, founding principal of DLANDstudio Architecture + Landscape Architecture; Ana Traverso-Krejcarek, Manager for the Friends of the High Line; and Joe Vance of Joseph Vance Architects. The event is FREE and open to the public.
WHAT: Envisioning Bushwick Inlet Park—New Parks & The Public Realm, panel discussion WHEN: Monday March 5, 7pm–8:30pm WHERE: The park house at Bushwick Inlet Park, 86 Kent Avenue (at N 9th St) RSVP here
The community organization Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park has been fighting for green space in North Brooklyn since 2005. That year, the City rezoned Greenpoint and Williamsburg, leading to frenzied development in both neighborhoods. At the time of the Rezoning, the City promised to compensate North Brooklyn by adding park space to the neighborhood, with 27-acre Bushwick Inlet Park being the most prominent among the green parcels. But, 13 years later, residents are still waiting for that park space, and local advocacy groups like Open Space Alliance, Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks and Planning, and of course, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park, have been fighting from that time til this to hold the City accountable.
Goal 2: Create a balance between active and passive recreation opportunities to serve the diverse recreation needs of the community
Goal 3: Identify appropriate opportunities for direct interaction with the river, such as boating
Goal 4: Promote a healthy east river environment through sustainable design practices, habitat enhancement, and public education
Goal 5: Develop design guidelines to unify the waterfront as a whole, while encouraging the creation of unique, memorable spaces on an individual basis
Goal 6: Reflect the rich character, heritage and culture of the community in both publicly and privately developed open spaces.
Neighborhood advocates had enormous success working toward those goals in 2017: In April, Mayor de Blasio closed on all 27 acres of parkland, ensuring that Bushwick Inlet Park will be a reality; in October, the Mayor pledged an additional $17.5 million in funding to develop the park, and over the summer, the City finished remediating the 50 Kent parcel of parkland. Following those spectacular strides, Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park hopes to take advocacy “to the next level” in 2018, pushing the City, the Parks Department, and other involved stakeholders to remediate, design and develop the rest of the park with community input, in a way that adheres to the principles of the original Master Plan. Continue reading →
If people get involved, Cooper Park will get better! Please join Friends of Cooper Park for their first meeting!
When:Monday, November 13, 6pm-7:30pm Where:St. Nicks Alliance, 2 Kingsland Avenue Who: Current and future volunteers, park stewards and activists Food and Drinks: Yes! A complimentary light buffet dinner and drinks will be served Childcare will be provided More info: “Cooper Park can be so much more—health club, art studio, outdoor classroom, a place where we meet when we get together with friends and neighbors, and a space where we connect with nature. Our neighborhood’s friends groups, including Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park (FBIP) and McGolrick Park Neighborhood Alliance (MPNA), have demonstrated the value of parks groups, helping raise millions of dollars in capital improvements and getting neighbors involved in improving their parks! The sky’s the limit for Cooper Park….if we all get involved!”
Where: Bushwick Inlet Park Community Room | 86 Kent Ave (N.9th Street)
What’s going on with Bushwick Inlet Park after the successful outcome of the 2-year long battle to get the city to buy the CitiStorage site and complete Bushwick Inlet Park? Come find out!
Next week, Tuesday March 7th from 7-10pm local watering hole The Diamond (43 Franklin St.) is hosting a Waterfront Defenders Party to benefit this trifecta of fantastic local organizations— The Billion Oyster Project, Newtown Creek Alliance and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park. Proceeds from beverage sales will be donated and split evenly between them. Meet guest bartenders from these great organizations while learning more about what they do and how you can get your hands dirty!
The North Brooklyn Community and Elected Officials at the steps of City Hall
“The city can’t just rest on its laurels and say it made an offer,” said State Assemblyman Joe Lentol on the steps of City Hall, where the North Brooklyn community alongside elected officials turned up the heat on an already sweltering summer day for Bushwick Inlet Park. It’s because the $100 million offer that the city made to acquire the last remaining parcel of prospective park land expired yesterday, Monday, August 8.
This puts the future of all 28 acres of open space in a precarious position and Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park is not taking it lying down. With impassioned chants of “Where’s our park?” and a series of speeches by community leaders and elected officials, they demanded that Mayor de Blasio does what it takes to deliver the waterfront park that was promised 11 years ago. Continue reading →
The city is just 11 acres away from fulfilling its promise to deliver all 27 acres of Bushwick Inlet Park and made a $100 million offer to purchase the final piece needed on June 9th. Two days later, owner Norm Brodsky officially refused the offer and it expires tomorrow (Monday 8/8).
In a call to action to the community to rally at City Hall tomorrow (Mon, 8/8, 11AM), Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park writes:
We’re Close! But North Brooklyn Needs YOU To Make a COMPLETE Bushwick Inlet Park a Reality!
We’ve been fighting for over a decade to get this park built. And after Mayor de Blasio’s historic $100 million offer to buy the last piece of land, we are inches from the goal line.Continue reading →
What: 
Next week, Tuesday March 7th from 7-10pm local watering hole 
