Brownsville’s Betsy Head Park unveils its $30m makeover

By Jake Samieske

After a $30 million renovation investment and years of work, Brownsville’s Betsy Head Park officially reopened to the public last week.

Inclusionary hoops (courtesy, Photo by Pavel Bendov/ArchExplorer)

In a sign-of-the-times, the upgrade includes the city’s first ever parkour fitness course and a state-of-the-art skate park.

Arguably the most exciting and innovative feature of the 106-year-old park is an accessible, inclusionary basketball course, offering a “versatile experience for all ages and abilities, which met the current and changing needs of the community,” according to a spokesperson for Abel Bainnson Butz Landscape Architects, which collaborated on the renovation with the NYC parks department.

The park also consists of an outdoor amphitheater space that can serve a variety of community-based purposes, including as an outdoor classroom space for local schools. The section of the park located on the south side of Dumont. Ave offers synthetic turf for athletic programming, as well as multiple fitness stations.

The city was able to accomplish this all while ensuring the park met adequate sustainability standards and green initiatives. ABB explains that “each site design responds to its specific context while preserving large trees and incorporating unique programs derived from community-driven workshops and neighborhood planning efforts.”

In a year where New York’s parks became the saving grace of many Brooklynites, the Betsy Head Park makeover couldn’t have come sooner.

The Park was part of an initiative originally announced in 2016 by Mayor Bill de Blasio which promised to spend $150 million on New York Park upgrades, with an equal $30 million going to each borough. New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver stated as part of the announcement that his goal was “to make Betsy Head the true Brooklyn destination it is meant to be.”