Bensonhurst

Gentile wants input into Bensonhurst Park fix-up plans

Asks public to offer ideas on renovation

August 19, 2016 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Bensonhurst Park is slated for a $6.5 million renovation. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas
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City Councilmember Vincent Gentile is looking for ideas on how to renovate Bensonhurst Park and he is reaching out to the public for input.

The 17.5-acre park, located on Cropsey Avenue between 21st Avenue and Bay Parkway, is slated for a $6.5 million makeover by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst) said a scoping to discuss the work to be done is expected to take place sometime in the late summer or early fall and that he is hoping to hear ideas from the public.

Gentile secured more than $2.9 million of the capital funding for the project. The remainder was contributed by council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito ($2.3 million), Mayor Bill de Blasio ($1 million) and Councilmember Mark Treyger ($300,000). Treyger, a Democrat, represents Coney Island, Gravesend and parts of Bensonhurst. While Bensonhurst Park is technically located in Gentile’s council district, many of Treyger’s constituents enjoy its amenities.

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The Parks Deptartment has proposed a five-phase plan for a complete overhaul of the park’s infrastructure, fields and amenities. The preliminary plans include a complete redesign and reconstruction of the playground and spray fountain, as well as the realignment and repaving of the park’s paths and plaza, installation of new benches and game tables, and new drainage, water and lighting systems.

“It has been a quarter of a century since Bensonhurst Park has seen major capital improvements,” Gentile said in a statement. “This park has the potential to be one of the great green spaces in Brooklyn and all of New York. I am proud to have allocated and advocated for the necessary funding to get this project off the ground and I look forward to the scoping and community input meeting in the near future.” 

Community Board 11 officials said they were pleased that the project will soon get off the ground.

The rehabilitation of Bensonhurst Park has been a top priority of Community Board 11. Gentile is a great supporter of our parks, and now with this generous allocation of funding, this priority will finally become a reality. We thank Councilman Gentile, Speaker Mark-Viverito, Mayor de Blasio and Councilman Treyger for funding this project, and look forward to the design process,” Board 11 District Manager Marnee Elias-Pavia said. 

Residents who wish to offer suggestions on the park’s renovation can email Gentile at [email protected].

 

 


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