Community Involvement in Placemaking: Three Projects to Beautify Old Brooklyn
Over the past few years, Old Brooklyn CDC has been involved in many projects to improve public spaces and parks in the neighborhood, as well as mural projects to add splashes of color to blank walls along our main streets. There are currently three projects in the pipeline that will help to add a new sense of vibrancy to the Brighton Corridor and to Broadview Road.
Never Say Dive Mural
One of the projects that OBCDC is currently working on is a community-supported mural that will be painted on the south-facing wall of Never Say Dive, located at 4497 Broadview Road. Local artist Mike Sobeck, with whom OBCDC has worked many times in the past, has helped to create a mural concept that incorporates community feedback into the design.
This large wall on the side of Never Say Dive will be the home of a new mural this summer.
Between March 1st and 19th, community members were able to vote on which elements they wanted to see in the mural via an online survey. Over 150 people took the survey, and we are happy to announce the winners for the three categories: cardinal (birds), lavender (flowers), and the dive dog (menu items). OBCDC will be hosting a mural unveiling event later this summer, so look out for an announcement in the coming months!
Pocket Parks
In addition to the mural, the OBCDC is also working on two pocket park projects that will add new and improved park space to the neighborhood. A pocket park is a small park that is in a confined space – both projects are smaller than a parcel of land.
The first of the two projects is a renovation of the existing plaza located at the corner of Pearl Road and Henritze Avenue, on the southern end of the Brighton Corridor. In addition to adding more seating, landscaping, and other amenities, the goal of the project is also to shield the space from the sound of loud traffic passing through the nearby intersection of Pearl Road and State Road.
The community engagement for this project recently wrapped up, with an online survey that was open for two weeks and a community open house hosted on March 18th. There were over 125 respondents to the survey, including those who filled it out during the open house. The most favored design option was #2, which featured moveable seating and several interesting surface materials (see below). Seating, landscaping, and shade were the most-requested amenities.
Design option two includes multiple seating options, landscaping to soften the sound from the road, and a large amount of bike parking for visitors to nearby businesses.
Our second pocket park project will be located on Broadview Road, just south of Spring Road. This project is meant to add brand-new public space on this thriving section of Broadview Road, with similar amenities to the park at Pearl and Henritze. A community open house for this project will be held at 2018 Broadview Road, which is the site of the park, on April 29th, from 5:30 PM – 7 PM. There will also be an online survey available for this project – more details to come.
The greenspace at right is the future home of a pocket park that will offer seating, shade, landscaping, and a public art installation.
To OBCDC, these projects are a sign of the continued momentum in Old Brooklyn toward increased vibrancy along the commercial corridors.