a very reasonable campaign
We just want
some grass.
McCarren Park has everything except the most basic park feature of all: an open, flexible patch of green space for all.
okay so here's the thing
McCarren Park has blocks and blocks of green space and frankly electric energy on a Saturday morning between baseball, soccer players, track runners, etc. But what it lacks is the most simple park attribute of all: an open, flexible green space.
If you go to Central Park, Prospect Park, or Tempelhof in Berlin, all these parks share a core tenet that brings them to life to serve an entire community: flexible green space. Room to just exist. Throw a frisbee. Read a book. Have a picnic. Do absolutely nothing on a blanket.
We don't quite have room for a full Sheep's Meadow on the asphalt lot. But let's aim for a Lamb's Meadow of sorts. 🐑
the problem
Right now, the vast majority of park space in our neighborhood is programmed to a specific purpose: tennis courts on one end, baseball fields in the main section, a track with turf soccer field and handball courts on the other side, and a public pool.
All great things! But every square foot is spoken for. If you don't want to play an organized sport, the park kind of doesn't have room for you.
The renovation is a real chance to fix that. But more programmed amenities, however nice, keep serving specific sub-groups. We are once again at risk of skipping the one thing that would serve everyone.
the ask
Dedicate a meaningful portion of the asphalt lot renovation to open, unprogrammed green space: well-designed, beautifully landscaped, and intentionally left flexible for the whole community to use however they want.
We're not anti-pickleball. We're not anti-dog-run. We're pro-grass. Specifically, we're pro “a nice patch of grass where you can just go sit and be a person in a park.”
The renovation is projected for completion in 2029. There's time to get this right.
want to help?
Contact the parks department, come to a cleanup, or just tell your friends about us.