Greening Up Kensington: Flowers, Parks & More Coming To Our Area

When the snows melt, you should see some new green shoots sprouting around Kensington. Seeds planted a while ago to expand Kensington parks and plazas are establishing roots, others will set bud or even bear fruit this spring – and expect to find the daffodil bulbs planted in the Church Avenue tree pits their heads dancing in the breeze by mid-April.

First among the many projects is the long discussed renovation of Dome Playground’s lawn, seating area, and children’s playground at its north end, funded by Councilman Brad Lander to the tune of $1,800,000. The NYC Parks & Recreation Department will begin construction this spring. Signs will be posted at Dome a month in advance to notify park users when Parks will close the north end for construction. That means this summer the basketball players will have to make room for activities bumped from the lawn/tot playground area.

Councilman Lander is funding six park projects in his district, which includes Kensington. These include redesigning Ennis Playground in Gowanus, an upgrade to St. Mary’s Park located under the Culver Viaduct along Smith Street, and the redesign of the dog run in Prospect Park.

In Kensington, he has appropriated $1 million to handle the second stage of Dome’s renovation. This money will pay for an upgrade to the basketball and handball courts, as well as the exercise area at Dome’s south end, the triangle apex at 38 Street and Dahill Road.

Brooklyn Parks Chief of Staff Martin Maher; NYC Parks’ designers and staff; Barry Spitzer, CB 12 district manager; Councilman Lander, and Lander’s staff member Catherine Zinnel met at Dome to review the ball players’ wish list in January. Don’t expect to see a Parks’ design proposal before next August. Nonetheless, the money is there, and everyone agrees the courts need modernizing.

A while ago, city Department of Transportation (DOT) planners came out to look at the cement triangle sitting in the middle of McDonald Avenue at Avenue C and to see whether it was a workable site for a “plaza.”

The Neighborhood Plaza Partnership, the Kensington Plaza Stewards, local activists, Councilman Lander, and Zinnel have applied for DOT support to furnish cafe tables and chairs, granite boulders, planters and umbrellas which would be used this spring to deck out the triangle and transform it into a “plaza.”

Whether DOT underwrites this project,  however, is contingent upon the depth of local support. With careful local tending you could find yourself eating lunch there in time for June bloom.

One thing you can count on for sure is seeing a host of golden daffodils in bloom along Church Avenue. Street Tree Brigade chair Jane Wong pulled together a seven-member posse of dedicated daffodil bulb planters who kept at it until mid-December. Close to 1,000 bulbs were dug into the Church Avenue tree pits from Ocean Parkway to Story Street. If weather cooperates, look for them late April.