Youth Advocates Bringing Car-Free Prospect Park Message to Bloomberg

ppya.jpg
Prospect Park Youth Advocates (l-r) Oswald, Michael, Kelena and Farah

Having spent their summer working for a car-free Prospect Park, four young Brooklynites are taking their message to the mayor on Monday. And they’ll have plenty of backup.

Prospect Park Youth Advocates Michael, Farah, Kelena and Oswald have collected 10,000 postcards signed by New Yorkers who support a car-free park. On Monday afternoon, the four will walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, accompanied by the Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band and City Council members Letitia James and David Yassky, to hand-deliver the cards to Mayor Bloomberg. The event will culminate in a 5 p.m. rally at City Hall.

In preparation for the "Brooklyn Brings it to Bloomberg" rally, the youth sent a letter to the mayor asking that he meet them at City Hall to receive his mail. Might Bloomberg, himself having expressed interest in making Prospect Park car-free, reward the efforts of these volunteers by listening to them in person?

Here are the details on Monday’s activities: 

Walk to City Hall
4 p.m.
Meet at Cadman Plaza East and Prospect Street, Brooklyn

Rally at City Hall
5 p.m.
City Hall, Manhattan
Please bring photo ID and arrive 15 minutes early to go through security.

Photo: youthforcarfreeparks/Flickr

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Streetfilms: The Prospect Park Youth Advocates

|
The Prospect Park Youth Advocates get some well-earned star treatment in this Streetfilm from Robin Urban Smith. They spent the summer gathering data and collecting signatures for a car-free park, culminating last week with a rally at City Hall. Now we see what it takes to mount a 10,000-letter petition drive: resourcefulness, persistence, and the […]

Community Boards Step Up Opposition to Car-Free Prospect Park

|
Car-free park advocates deliver 10,000+ letters of support to City Hall. Two weeks ago, the Prospect Park Youth Advocates delivered 10,000 signatures to City Hall asking for a three-month car-free trial. Now Community Boards 7 and 14, as well as a group called the Windsor Terrace Alliance, are demanding that the park remain open to […]

UWS Shows Support for Car-Free Park, But Broader Campaign Is Lacking

|
Last night’s unanimous votes in support of a summer-long car-free Central Park by Manhattan Community Board 7’s parks and transportation committees moved the ball forward for advocates of car-free parks. With no movement at the mayoral level on the issue, any successful push will have to come from the bottom up. Similar statements of community […]