By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

FLATLANDS — Nowadays, when “Floyd Bennett Field� is mentioned, most Brooklynites — or at any rate those under the age of 50 — think of Aviator Sports and Recreation complex.

Opened just a few years ago, the popular complex sponsors basketball, flag football, indoor soccer, ice skating, rock climbing and other sports. In addition, the now-unsued British Concorde plane, usually on display at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, is now being housed at Aviator while the Intrepid is being repaired.

However, the complex is just one part of the overall Floyd Bennett Field, which contains many airplane hangars from the 1930s and ‘40s, when the field was a functioning municipal airport, a small museum, and various nature trails. It also hosts a battery-powered model airplane club, the largest community garden in the city and a group of elderly Brooklynites who maintain and repair real-life World War II aircraft.

Floyd Bennett Field is part of Marine Park, which, in turn, is part of the National Parks Service’s Gateway National Park, with other “components� in Staten Island and New Jersey.

On Tuesday, Congressman Anthony Weiner, D-Brooklyn/Queens, issued an ambitious plan for the future of the park during his annual “State of the National Park� speech. He also celebrated various achievements, such as achieving $4.8 million to renovate Floyd Bennett’s Ryan Visitors Center. Here are some of his recommendations that are specific to Brooklyn:

• Install Another Boat Launch at Floyd Bennett Field: There is currently one launch for kayaks and canoes located on the eastern end of Floyd Bennett Field at the sea plane ramp. There are no plans to install a ramp for small motorized boats and sail boats, which are allowed in Jamaica Bay. Weiner wants to increase opportunities for boaters, kayakers and canoers by installing another boat launch on the grounds of Floyd Bennett Field.

• Expand Ferry Service to the Rockaways: It takes far too long to commute to Manhattan from the eastern edges of Queens and Brooklyn. In 2005, Weiner secured $15 million to purchase three ferries and establish service from Queens and Brooklyn to Manhattan. The ferry service would not only stop at Gateway — many people envision a stop at Coney Island.

• Expand Community Gardens throughout Gateway: As we’ve mentioned, the gardens at Floyd Bennett Field are probably the city’s largest, and currently hold more than 400 garden plots. The community gardens program offers a picnic area, Champions of Courage Garden with wheelchair access, Children’s garden, pumpkin patch, and more.

• Restore Wildlife Habitat in Floyd Bennett Field: As development grows, many natural species are pushed out. Rep. Weiner proposed a three-year project to remove invasive species. The project would also bring back local wildlife to the area. Weiner is working to secure the $490,000 needed for the project.

• Remove NYPD Cars: For years, the New York Police Department has been talking about moving their training facility from Floyd Bennett Field to College Point. Weiner would work with the NYPD to expedite the enactment of their planned transfer from Gateway to College Point.

Dave Lutz of the non-profit Friends of Gateway group applauded most of Weiner’s ideas. However, he said, “I would like to find out where the money is to make it happen. The National Park Service has been stymied by a prejudice toward the big western parks [such as Yosemite and Yellowstone]. The National Parks web site is so big that Gateway sort of gets lost.�

Friends of Gateway, Lutz said, is developing a separate web site for Gateway.

Concerning the boat launch proposal, Lutz said he would also like to see a boat storage facility. “Most of us who live in cities don’t have the space to store their boats that people in other places, who usually store their boats in their back yards, do. I know one person who keeps her canoe in her Philadelphia apartment.�

Lutz also applauded Weiner’s plans to have the NYPD move their facilities out of the park. Referring in particular to a radar antenna that is part of the NYPD installation, he said, “That was supposed to be in an industrial park, but there were enough people in the nearby neighborhood who didn’t want it there, so they put it in a national park.�

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