Tesla will have a skateboard park neighbor

Construction is finally underway at Harold Ickes Playground to construct a BMX bike and skate park, as well as a multipurpose play area. The $4,345,500 project is expected to be completed in March of 2024.

After a teen activist pushed to turn the playground into a skate park, the project was initially agreed upon in 2017 by then Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Councilmen Carlos Menchaca and Brad Lander.

There were numerous delays in the project and at times a temporary skateboard ramp was put up in the playground. It has also been used for children’s baseball and softball practices. “It’s too bad the kids won’t be able to use the space for baseball anymore,” said Christopher from Cobble Hill. “I don’t know of any other skate parks in the area though, so I understand why

by Brian Abate

they’re doing this.”

Others were happy to see the work getting underway.

“The playground hasn’t been in the best shape for a while,” said Andrea from Red Hook. “I think it’s good to see them fixing the place up. I just hope there won’t be any delays with the construction.”

The construction started suddenly after the long delays and it surprised a lot of people. While it was nice to see the project moving along, local activists had some concerns.

“I saw the flyers in early March saying the construction would be starting on so I started reaching out to as many people as I could think of to try to get a more detailed plan,” said Claire Merlino, a local activist and gardener. “Others did the same. Community gardeners and various staff from Community Board 6, the parks department, and council member Aviles’ office were all helpful.

“We wanted to find out what the construction would mean for the trees around the park. Community gardeners and neighbors have planted and taken care of the ones around the perimeter for a long time.”

Merlino was able to find the plan but the people she reached out to weren’t able to tell her which trees would be staying and which ones would be removed based on the plan.

“Inside each of the circles on the plan used to represent a tree, there was a tiny dot or plus sign,” Merlino said. “I learned that every plus sign was a new tree and every dot was a tree that is going to be retained from what’s there now. It was a relief to find out that they are going to be keeping all of the trees.

“There were also three trees that community members planted which were not on the plan. After a lot of calls, we got official confirmation that the trees which are going to stay had been tagged with orange paint.

“There is also a big, sprawling shrub in the area that a community member from Red Hook has been taking care of for a very long time. Unfortunately, workers said that because of a drainage issue, they had to remove that shrub.”

Merlino and other activists were ready to protest if the project included getting rid of a lot of the current trees and shrubs around the playground but fortunately, they did not end up needing to protest. It is reassuring to know that there are activists watching out for the best interests of the community.

As for the park itself, it is exciting to know that the construction is already underway, and progress is being made.

“I’ll miss bringing my dog here and letting him run around but I’m excited to see the finished product after all the work is done,” said a woman from Red Hook. “I think it will end up being good for the neighborhood.”