The Fort Green Conservancy is looking at the health of the community\u2019s park system as a whole, which is \u201cfeeling the strain\u201d from new development, said Executive Director Rosamond Fletcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main focus right now is trying to figure out how we ensure that, as the population density is increasing, we have adequate open space and green space in the area,\u201d Fletcher said.<\/p>\n
The conservancy is looking to form a fund for green spaces with organizations across the neighborhood, which could resemble a business improvement district.<\/p>\n More parks would be ideal for Fort Greene, but there is a significant barrier: space.<\/p>\n Like much of the city, the neighborhood is already densely developed. That\u2019s why local nonprofits are focusing their efforts on developing open spaces of all kinds, from plazas to gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re in New York, because of the difficulty of building new green space, you have to get creative,\u201d Ganser said.<\/p>\n The tour highlighted some of the ways open space has been carved out of existing cityscape, such as the seven-block open street on Willoughby Avenue starting at Fort Greene Park, dedicated to pedestrians, cyclists and vendors; a revitalization of the \u201cVictory Love Garden\u201d at NYCHA\u2019s Walt Whitman Houses, where elder residents once taught gardening and community stewardship to the youth; a forthcoming plaza wrapped around Walt Whitman Library to replace an iron fence and another plaza at the front gate of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.<\/p>\n In order to build a neighborhood around open spaces, there must be human-centered pathways connecting them, advocates stressed. Open streets, like Willoughby Avenue, which closes to traffic from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day, are key examples.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are on this street every single day, and I think it\u2019s really helped inform and encourage people to think of streets as public, open spaces,\u201d said Mike Lydon, principal at Street Plans, a community partner behind the open street.<\/p>\n Bike lanes are another key connector of open spaces. One of the stops on the tour was the protected bike and pedestrian pathway along the Brooklyn Navy Yard, which is part of the 22-mile-long Brooklyn Greenway.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think of greenways as the connective tissue for all of our parks, all of our employment centers, our community centers, our libraries. How can we travel from those various community destinations safely in a clear, cohesive way?\u201d said Hunter Armstrong, executive director of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the last stops on the tour illustrated the financial hurdles facing open spaces. The Friends of Commodore Barry Park are still waiting for the start of a $20.5 million revitalization of the park\u2019s playground and cracked asphalt lot, which was supposed to be<\/a> completed by 2026. Ganser blames NYC Parks\u2019s budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just not enough funding to have the staffing levels that the agency needs to really take care of our city\u2019s parks,\u201d Ganser said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Delays in funding allocation directly harm parks like Commodore Barry, Ganser continued, \u201cWhen funding is allocated for the parks, it takes forever for the capital project to start, and then by the time it starts, the original amount of funding isn\u2019t enough to do the project because everything\u2019s gone up in price.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Kathy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260509_bkeagle-ny4p-thompson-24.jpg\")
<\/a>Kathy Park Price holds a sticker that says \u201cBuild The Bergen And Dean Bike Blvd\u201d on the second stop of the walking tour. Photo: Julie Thompson\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n![\"Kathy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260509_bkeagle-ny4p-thompson-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Kathy Park Price of New Yorkers For Parks makes opening remarks in Fort Greene Park at the start of the walking tour. On the left, off camera, her daughter holds a bouquet of roses to present in honor of Mother\u2019s Day weekend. Photo: Julie Thompson\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n
![\"Left](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260509_bkeagle-ny4p-thompson-22.jpg\")
<\/a>Left to right: Meera Malhotra Marti of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy, New York State Sen. Jabari Brisport, Chief of Staff to NY State Senate Liznel Palermo-Ventura and Joylynn Holder of the Fort Greene Park Conservancy walking between tour stops in Fort Greene Park. Photo: Julie Thompson\/Brooklyn Eagle<\/p>\n