The Prospect Park Youth Advocates have been awarded the Alliance for Biking and Walking's 2009 Innovation Award for their work this summer with Transportation Alternatives and the People of Brooklyn to make Prospect Park Car-Free:

"Transportation Alternatives is being honored with the 2009 Innovation Award for their Youth For Car Free Parks project in Brooklyn, New York. This campaign not only promoted bicycling and walking in Prospect Park, but also found a creative and innovative way to directly involve community youth by choosing four Brooklyn high school students to lead the effort through a competitive internship."

See more at the Alliance for Biking and Walking.

Jessie Singer
Prospect Park Youth Advocate Manager

As the Prospect Park Youth Advocates stare longingly at the changing leaves outside their classroom windows, daydreaming of a car-free Prospect Park, we begin to reflect on a summer of success.

This summer, four high school students hijacked and revolutionized Transportation Alternatives' historic campaign for a Car-Free Prospect Park.

This summer, three park-side members of the New York City Council rallied for a car-free Prospect Park, and wrote the Mayor in support of a green, safe, healthy, car-free place for young Brooklynites to play.

This summer, Mayor Bloomberg, for the first time in his near eight years in office, said that the City should look into making Prospect Park car-free. "It would be great if we could keep cars out of all parks," he said.

The day of our rally was a great day; one of the best. Our big event finally happened, the rally at City Hall. All our efforts and dreams were poured into this rally pot. Tension and static were in the air; for it was the day we would bring it to Bloomberg. We began the march at the Brooklyn Bridge (Brooklyn side, home sweet home). We were accompanied by few of my friends from Brooklyn Academy for Science and the Environment, plus students from Freedom Academy High School, Edward R. Murrow High School and ACORN Community High School, the phenomenal Brooklyn Steppers Marching Band and the powerful T.A. staff.