CUNY Law Alum Paula Segal and Brooklyn’s 596 Acres
596 founder Paula Segal at CUER’s June 26th Workshop
FACT:?? There are 596 acres of vacant public land in Brooklyn.?? For perspective, that is slightly larger than??Prospect Park (585 acres) and more than half the size of??Central Park (843 acres). How do I know this???Well the dimensions of the parks are well known.????But, until recently, it was not possible to find out information about vacant public land not officially designated as parkland.?? That is changing courtesy of 596 acres,??an?? ambitious project co-founded by CUNY Law alum Paula Segal.?? 596 acres has developed an interactive map that shows where all those vacant public Brooklyn lots are located.?? The idea is that armed with this information, community groups will be able to “get the keys legally and unlock all these rusty gates???and the opportunities within them . . .”?? It is so??inspiring to see law students??being agents??of change in their??neighborhoods!So many neighborhoods in the??New York City are underserved in terms of access to greenspace.??Yet, there is so much vacant public land.?? 596 acres is a great example of how knowledge really??can be??power. Let’s hope this??map is the first step toward deploying these public lands to begin to rectify this environmental injustice!
I wonder how many acres of vacant public land there are in Queens . . .and the Bronx . . ..
Do you have a story to share about a CUNY Law student or alum??making a difference??? If so, email cuer(at)mail.law.cuny.edu
