Does Fort Greene Park Need a Designated Soccer Field?

A group of Fort Greene Park preservationists are petitioning for a dusty plot of land to be turned into a traditional grassy soccer field. But some local athletes who already use the area for futbol say improvements could have a negative impact on game time.

“If they just put the field in and allow everything else to remain the same, then that’s fine,” said Shawn Reid, a Clinton Hill resident who has been playing soccer in Fort Green Park for about seven years, told the Brooklyn Paper. “But when facilities get improved, groups from all over the place see it as a resource and want to play there.”

Mitchell Ratchik, who launched a petition "Fort Greener Park" suggesting the Parks Department cover the area in AstroTurf feels differently.

“I want the park to be as great as it can be for everyone to use,” he told BP, adding that the reason the land is grassless in the first place is due to rogue soccer players overusing it.

Whether the Parks Department would even approve AstroTurf is a different story altogether. 

How do you feel about the dusty soccer space in Fort Greene Park? Tell us in the comments below.