Brooklyn's Walt Whitman Park -- New Design Calls For 'Great Lawn,' Fountain

Bids will go out this summer for a $4.5 million facelift for Walt Whitman Park, the 2.9-acre rectangle south of the OEM Building between Cadman Plaza East and Adams Street, according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

The Department of Parks’ preliminary design (see the Eagle for the schematic) calls for "a planted median at the Cadman Plaza East entrance, a green, mound-shaped oval in the middle of the park surrounding a 'great lawn,' and a fountain that will double as a sprinkler for children."

The city gave the long-neglected park to the feds several years ago for use as a parking lot while the new federal courthouse was being built. In 2007, federal officials promised the city $2.5 million to fix the park up once they were done with it.

While one of the goals is to integrate Walt Whitman Park with Cadman Plaza Park across Cadman Plaza East, there seem to be conflicting plans for the street. One plan is to de-map Cadman Plaza East for use as a landscaped bike and pedestrian mall; the other calls for ramped up security, including “ballistic bunkers” at either end.

A New Day Dawns for Walt Whitman Park -- Brooklyn Eagle

- Walt Whitman Park Finally Loses Its Parking Lot

Photo by MK Metz

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