Should Charcoal Grilling Be Banned In Prospect Park?

When you head out to enjoy a nice afternoon in Prospect Park, does the smoke from barbecues bother you? For one 14th Street neighbor, it’s been getting to be too much, so she’s started a petition calling for an end to barbecuing in the park by 2015.

Neighbor Daz Ryan tells the Daily News that the smoke has been increasing, and that it seeps into her home. And as for how it affects park-goers, in the petition she writes:

The Park’s current policy basically corrals dozens of barbecues and a large number of people into small designated areas. There is no limit to the number of barbecues. Such a policy effectively does not provide adequate ventilation and endangers the health of those living, walking, playing and sitting nearby as well as to the barbecuers themselves!

Barbecuing in the park is only allowed in designated areas (though we’ve all seen that rule ignored), and the petition claims that the use of those areas has increased.

As of the time of this post, the petition has 115 signatures. There’s also a Facebook page set up, which has so far documented an illegal barbecue and improper charcoal dumping.

Have you seen — and smelled — more cookouts, and if so, do you feel like it’s harmful enough to be banned?

Photo by Tom Prendergast