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Page 10, PHOENIX, May 16, 1974The sylvan isolation of Prospect Park has been violated by the construction of high-rise buildings along itsedges over the past decades. A movement is now afoot to keep new construction around the Park below sixstories in height, to try to retain the atmosphere the Park%u2019s designers sought.Parkiand Open Spaces Under Constant Threat As BuildersConstruct Rings of ConcreteBY JOHN BLACKMOREJohn Cowper Powys, a Welsh novelist whospent some time in the New York environs, wasmuch impressed with the natural splendor ofProspect Park. He referred to it as %u201c that GermanPark in Brooklyn,\praise, seeing Prospect Park as far superior tothat park in Manhattan.American visitors to Europe have oftenremarked on the superiority of urban parklands onthe continent, and Powys%u2019s comment, particularlycoming from a citizen of the British Isles, helps toset things aright. German parks are far differentfrom those in the States. Rather than multimediaentertainment centers, the parks of the continentare often natural retreats for city-dwellers, wherethe spirit can be recharged through contact withnature. Park visitors were meant to stroll, viewthe animals in their natural settings, perhaps heara concert; but certainly their main function is toobliterate any vestige of urban noise and grime.This was the very intention of park architectsOlmsted and Vaux in their design of ProspectPark. The site was particularly suitable in that itfollowed the ridge separating the City of Brooklynfrom the Town of Flatbush. Olmsted and Vauxaccentuated the natural contours of the site insuch a way that the surrounding buildings wouldbe excluded from the natural landscape. TheNethermead and the Long Meadow, the two mainopen spaces of the park, are by and large enclosedby hillocks and folliage so that when the eyesweeps across the perimeter of these meadows,one could forget for a moment that one was sittingin the middle of the largest urban conglomerateknown to man.This state of affairs didn%u2019t last for long. Early inthis century luxury apartment buildings wereconstructed along Prospect Park West, offeringsplendid views to the dwellers of same, butintruding on the natural setting of the park.Fortunately the design of these buildings was notso bad as to completely ruin the scenery, but wemight speculate that Olmstead and Vaux wouldnot have been pleased.The real debacle comes much later. First withthe destruction of Ebbetts Field and the buildingof the Ebbetts Field Houses, and later withapartm ent complexes springing up on theFlatbush side, the elegance of the original designhas become further compromised. Most recently,the construction last year of a concrete apartmenttower on the other side of the Brooklyn BotanicGardens, puts the final stamp on the intrusion,and most likely points to things to come.Of course apartment dwellers wish to have averdant natural view from their windows insteadof brick and pavement. Who wouldn%u2019t? But atsuch a cost to one of the finest features of theOlmsted-Vaux design? Now is the time to bring ahalt to this situation. If not, we will soon find thepark%u2019s borders clustered with apartment towers,and the spaces so carefully planned, thoroughlyspoiled.Last year the Landmarks Commission wasgiven new authority to designate land andcityscapes. Perhaps we might humbly suggestthat the environs of Prospect Park be sodesignated to restrict building size to six stories.In fact this wouldn%u2019t be such a bad idea for thewhole of Brooklyn%u2019s Brownstone area. Londonhas had six-story zoning for quite a few years incertain sections of that city. It%u2019s now time to givesome thought to doing the same for Brooklyn.Caucus toTeii How To PoliticA %u201c How To%u201d meeting, dealing with- two important aspects of citizen political action - Effective Lobbying for Legislation and Parental Involvement in School De- | centralization - will be sponsored by the Brooklyn Womens Political Caucus on Wednesday, May 22 at j 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Ethical Culture Meeting House, Prospect Park West and 2nd Street.Roberta Weiner of the Manhattan Women%u2019s Political Caucus and 1 coordinator of the successful Women%u2019s Albany Lobby will lead a discussion/workshop on effective lobbying. For this she will draw on the experiences of her group which lobbied in Albany on every Tuesday of the legislative session. The group was instrumental in winning some major victories for women, including passage of the new rape law and new credit law. Ms. Weiner, however, will be looking forward to issues that are pending before the State Legislature. These include maternity disability benefits, an end to discrimination against women in insurance and revision of the divorce laws.Marv Munistere, past president of the P.T.A. of P.S. 321 in Park Slope and a writer on education, will discuss school decentralization and the how to of creative parent participation.'I he Brooklyn Women%u2019s Political Caucus is a multi-partisan, boroughwide organization, with the dual purpose of urging women to participate fully in the political process and of encouraging and supporting qualified women seeking election to public or community office. The Brooklyn Women%u2019s Political Caucus is a member of the New York State Women%u2019s Political Caucus.Carniva toHelp SchoolThe block of Congress, Hicks and Warren Streets will come to life during the evenings between Friday, May 24 and Monday, June 3 when a Carnival for the benefit of St. Peter's School will take place.St. Peter%u2019s is completeting its 108th year of continuous educational work for the children of Cobble Hill and South Brooklyn, and a spokesman for the fair committee promises the event will be %u201c fun for all.%u201dThe Carnival will be open every night from 7:30 to 10:00 and an earlier opening will mark the Sundays and holidays. It will close with the great give-away of a Pinto Station Wagon on Monday evening June 3. Friday, May 31, from 1 to 4 p.m., will be Children%u2019s Day with surprises for all those attending.The special feature this year is a %u201c White Elephant Sale.%u201dh a ir s t y l is t sSuperiorHair (.areSuperlativeHair CuttingSuper!Hair Styling7J1 (Hark St.' 5 9 9 -1 9 9 9