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Rain Doesn%u2019t Dampen Spirit Of Olmsted In ParkBY LIZ KOCHWith the many parks in New York designed by landscape architect Frederick Olmsted, his name is familiar to New Yorkers ranging from school-age child to grandmothers. But Olmsted also designed parks from sea to shining sea, leaving an emerald belt in his wake that stretched across the nation bearing his stamp in the form of trees, ravines and open fields.On Saturday, Nov. 8, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Association for Olmsted Parks hosted a conference in Prospect Park entitled %u201cOlmsted in New York,%u201d inviting park directors from all over the country to view Olmsted%u2019s New York creations and attracting many an Olmsted scholar as well.They came from as far away as Quebec and Seattle, Washington, and during their stroll through Prospect Park, they stopped to seriously ponder the placement of rocks in the many waterfalls of the park and to contemplate the transition of the park land from woods to open meadows.%u201cOne thing Olmsted almost always did was put a parting rock right before his waterfalls,%u201d explained Patricia O%u2019Donnell, architect for the Parks Department%u2019s restoration of its Ravine I, to the group of 40 that she led through the park, a hearty band undaunted by the soggy weather and continuous drizzle that turned the park into a mirage of orange and red autumn mistiness and puddled walkways.With umbrellas in hand they discussed the problem of erosion and maintaining a historic landscape and studied the vandalized lamp posts that dotted the deeper paths of the park, nodding in agreement when Prospect Park Administrator Tupper Thomas explained the plan to do away with those lamp posts. %u201cThe urban element is really not needed here,%u201d she said firmly.The walk through the park was preceded by two hours of discussion on the challenges of maintaining a historic landscape and New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern addressed a subject that Olmsted in his day probably did not even consider, anti-social and psychotic behavior in the parks.%u201cWe have a real problem in our parks because they discourage other people from coming to the park. People are then less interested in supporting the development of parks if they can%u2019t use them,%u201d he told the group.Thomas provided up-to-date history of Prospect Park and the efforts of the recent administration to guide the park into its future form while maintaining a strong relation toOlmsted%u2019s original design. %u201cAll the wonderful things you hear Olmsted scholars talk about are in this park,%u201d she said. %u201cThere have been additions made over the years but the majority of them have been on the periphery. Clearly there is still a need for a lot of restoration but the park is there in its original look and feel,%u201d she added.One of the problems, she said, of restoring the park stemmed from a general lack of landscapers who specialized in historic renovation.%u201cHow does one bring together late 20th Century with the visions of the original in a context that can bring the park into the future?%u201d O%u2019Donnell asked. %u201cYou need to not operate in strict terminology of restoration but address the design intent to the greatest extent possible,%u201d she explained.Addressing a more practical subject, O%u2019Donnell pointed out that some of the problems confronting them were finding low bidders for contracts and describing the construction documents to reinstate the 19th Century vision. %u201cYou need to be able to give the people doing the work enough information about the project and details,%u201d she said.Prospect Park is currently in the midst of a major capital improvement program with a number of projects already underway or soon to begin. During the two-hour tour of the park, Thomas pointed out the work already done and its compatability with the original design. Pausing at the Long Meadow, still surrounded by a fence, but now complete with seven baseball diamonds, she pointed out the new design elements.%u201c Before, the baseball fields wereDespite interm ittent showers, O lm sted fans streamed through Prospect Park admiringhis design skills and pondering the placem ent of boulders in the park%u2019s waterways. Therain did not stop landscape architect Patricia O'Donnell from pulling out her designschem e (right) for the park, nor did it prevent parks adm inistrator Tupper Thomas fromleading a leisurely stroll through the park. (Phoenix/Koch Photos)everywhere and it broke up the continuous line of the meadow,%u201d she explained. The new design sequesters the ball fields near the periphery of the open field, thus still leaving a wide open expanse that stretches unhindered to the north.For the some 100 people who gathered in the rain that day to view the park, reactions ranged between marvel and satisfaction. Itwas a group that appreciated park land. %u201cThere are so many different moods here,%u201d one mused as the group stood beneath the dark Neathermead Arches. Another woman, who traveled all the way from Canada, diverged from Olmstedian thought for a moment and, peering down the path, said %u201c Where are the garbage cans? It is so clean but there are no garbage cans.%u201dCity Cuts Extra Purse Strings On Local Commercial StreetsBY ROB TAYLORThe shadow cast over the future outlook of Brooklyn%u2019s commercial street revitalization projects darkened last month with the news that the City will not provide any additional money to this year%u2019s severely curtailed local development corporation (LDC) budgets.The news came as the LDC%u2019s were submitting budget proposals for the fiscal year beginning July, 1987. This year, as in previous budget cycles, the groups had expected money from Borough President Howard Golden, but Golden did not make the expected contribution. Looking at the next budget cycle, he says the LDCs should become the sole responsibility of the City. Most of the LDC budgets were cut in haif, some lost all their operating budgets.%u201cSomehow there%u2019s a myth that LDCs will survive only with the Borough President%u2019s assistance,%u201d said Golden%u2019s spokesperson, Deborah Gardner. %u201cThe Borough President has been able to help in the part, but the ball really is in the City%u2019s court now.%u201dGOLDEN%u2019S PITCH QUESTIONABLEWhether Mayor Koch is going to be able to accept Golden%u2019s pitch is questionable. In a letter from Alair Townsend, deputy mayor for finance and economic development, the LDCs were told that the budget for the current fiscal year was %u201cvery tight%u201d and numerous reductions were required toh a la n ro it Tnum spnd suggested th a t th eLDCs look for additional funds through private contributions and increased local support. With local officials predicting that the FY %u201988 budget will be even more difficult to balance, LDC directors say they arepessimistic about their chances of receiving more money.Faced with very small budgets, the directors are perplexed, and unsure of what actions to take. %u201cI don%u2019t want to paint a fatal story,%u201d says Keith Getter, director of the Park Slope Fifth Avenue LDC, %u201cbut it seems that funds won%u2019t be forthcoming from the City of New York any longer.%u201dBette Stoltz, director of the Merchants Association of Smith Street (MASS) LDC agrees. %u201cWhat more can we do?%u201d she asks.The predicament began in late June when the City struggled to balance its budget at the last minute. With City Councilmembers vying for a larger role in the spending of discretionary money, Golden%u2019s discretionary funds were cut in half. This money has previously picked up half of the LDC budget with the Office of Business Development making up the other portion. Brooklyn LDCs lost out this year because Golden, unlike the other four borough presidents, gave most of his money to other economic development programs.The action left three LDCs in the downtown Brownstone area severely handicapped. The MASS budget was cut from $144,000 to $55,000; the Fifth Avenue LDC from approximately $147,000 to $50,000; and the Revitalization of the Southern Area of the Slope (ROSAS) LDC from $84,000 to $35,000.%u201cThe whole budget process was confusingAnd T dnn%u2019t th in k th p P itv P n nno ilm om K ^rpknew what they were doing,%u201d says Stoltz.After learning about the budget cuts, Stoltz spearheaded a coalition of the 17 LDCs in Brooklyn and met with Golden to see if more money could be found for their revitalizationprograms. Golden said he would ask the Mayor in early July for additional money. According to Stoltz, Golden did not raise the issue with the Mayor until three weeks later.%u201cWe didn%u2019t hear anything for a long time and it wasn%u2019t until after we submitted our petitions to Alair Townsend that we heard anything,%u201d says Stoltz referring to the 1,500 signatures collected from local merchants in Brooklyn requesting more money.With several other development projects along their commercial shopping strips, including street reconstruction plans that need Golden%u2019s support, the LDC directors are reluctant to directly criticize the Borough President%u2019s efforts to gain more funding.%u201cI believe he believes he made the best efforts he could for Brooklyn,%u201d says Stoltz.PROGRAM%u00ae ARE CUTThe lack of money has forced most of the LDCs to cut back many of their services and development programs that the directors say are needed to bring new commercial business to these somewhat blighted shopping strips. Ed O%u2019Brien, director of ROSAS, has reduced his office hours by 20 percent and has cut the capital assistance grants for storefront renovations from a maximum of $3,000 to $800. %u201cThere%u2019s also a good possibility that we will exhaust our funds by February,%u201d he says.OPERATED E** *MTir ai .1 vStoltz says she has operated MASS %u201cfrantically%u201d since the budget cuts and has eliminated one staff person and title storefront rehabilitation grants. %u201cThere is very little money for merchant grants nowand all my record keeping is far behind,%u201d she says.The Fifth Avenue LDC also receives funds from the State government and appears to be in a better position than the other LDCs. Getter says that the State has indicated to him that it might be able to offer more assistance this year. %u201cMy main concern seems to be protecting what we have,%u201d he says. %u201cThe money from the State and other sources is not reliable and can%u2019t be expected for long periods of time.%u201dThe directors are now looking at next year for additional money to more fully operate their revitalization programs, but most are not optimistic about the aid result. All have requested similar amounts to last year%u2019s requests, hoping that some extra money will be found in the City budget to make up for last year%u2019s loss.Stoltz does not expect the Borough President to receive any additional discretionary funds. %u201cI think he%u2019ll get even less next year,%u201d she says. %u201cBasically, I think this whole thing makes the argument for Business Improvement Districts stronger.%u201d Business Improvement Districts rely on a special tax levied from the store owners along a shopping strip.STILL EXPECTING FUNDSGetter is still expecting the City to come up with most of the money the Fifth Avenue LDC is requesting. %u201cCertainly we can%u2019t operate forlocc tKon rnn /iirl tKio iroor %u201d Ko coiw tlTd,0 qIoamy opinion that since the City started the project, they shouldn%u2019t stop when a job is half done.%u201dWhile Golden says that it is still too early inContinuedN ovem ber 13,19 86 , T H E P H O E N IX , Page 3