Overview
- Prospect Park Alliance, NYC Parks, and NYCEDC have started construction on an eight-acre redesign in the park’s northeast Vale, the site’s first major upgrade in more than 50 years.
- Plans revive the historic Children’s Pool and former rose garden with a pollinator meadow, planted arbor, nature play area, picnic lawn, and a pavilion featuring eight all-gender composting toilets, a green roof, and a greywater garden.
- The ecological program calls for removing invasive or diseased trees, planting 918 new trees, restoring about three acres of woodland, and following federal bird-nesting protections with surveys and 100-foot buffer zones.
- Temporary closures will occur during the build, including parts of Nellie’s Lawn, with completion anticipated in fall 2027.
- Coverage lists differing budgets for the project—$37.5 million in multiple accounts versus $35.5 million in one report—as officials also commit to on-site acknowledgment of the Vale’s LGBTQ history.