10 things you probably don't need to know about Australian Wildlife before going to the Prospect Park Zoo

G'Day, Mate! Did you know that Prospect Park Zoo has given their "Discovery Trail" an Australian theme? Well, they have, which means if you decide to visit, know that you'll be able to walk around with emus, dingos, wallabies and a kangaroo.  And if you've got a horrid little child to ditch, you're in luck!  There are now animals in the neighborhood that will gladly eat your baby!

I happen to be something of an expert on all things Australian, having vacationed there, once.  Also, I used to love the kangaroo salad at Long Tan, before it shuttered.  So, before you go to the Prospect Park Zoo to feed your baby to a dingo, here are ten things about Australia that might be fun conversation-starters with other strangers on the Discovery Trail.

Click to read more ...

[Fips Was There...] The Prospect Park Food Truck Rally

We here at FIPS spend a hell of a lot of time out and about in Brooklyn, attending outdoor concerts, comedy shows and various other events. So [FIPS Was There...] is where we're gonna' talk about all this shit.

It was hot and sticky this past Sunday as food trucks fired up their grills. This, of course, could only mean one thing: the Prospect Park Food Truck Rally is back in Grand Army Plaza for the season. From April through October, some of the city's most well-known trucks will gather on the third Sunday of every month (along with everyone else in Park Slope). I stopped by to sample a few goodies, which was totally worth braving the heat for.

Click to read more ...

Cool or Not Cool: Letting Your Kid Run on that Wall Along the Edge of Prospect Park?

[VIA NINEDAVES]This past weekend was totally beautiful, which means that everyone was out and about in the neighborhood. I was one of them, too: shopping, eating, and drinking my way around the slope, just trying to soak up as much sunshine as possible. 

My journey to outdoor neighborhood bliss brought me up to Prospect Park on Sunday, where I grabbed a Coolhaus ice cream sandwich with my buddy and did some serious people-watching. There was just one problem: all the benches along Prospect Park West were taken. So we decided to lean up against that triangular divider wall on the edge of the park.

Click to read more ...

Park Slope Parents Are Still Defending Themselves in This Whole Ice Cream Ban Debacle

Photo via www.blog.nimdiet.com

Good news, everyone! Park Slope parents DON’T hate ice cream. Or at least, they don’t hate it THAT much. Or rather, they don’t hate it in a way that will drastically affect my life. Or something.

What am I even talking about? Why do we care what Park Slope parents think about ice cream? To bring you up to speed: Some parents are (still) angry that ice cream trucks and Italian ice carts have found their way to Prospect Park playgrounds. They took to the blogosphere, specifically Park Slope Parents, to complain about it. The Post picked up the story and tipped off the entire world to an alleged plot to ban ice cream trucks from Prospect Park. A blogging shitstorm of epic proportions followed. Everyone from Jezebel to FiPS picked up the story and skewered the Park Slope Parent community. How could they demonstrate such bad parenting? Why couldn’t they just say “no” to their children? Why is ice cream that big of a deal?

Turns out the quotes may have been taken out of context. Park Slope Parents recently clarified its position on ice cream in the park. Sale of ice cream is cool (nay, encouraged!) by them as long as the milk and cream are from the happiest of organically-fed and hormone-free cows, the eggs are from free-range chickens, and the transportation of said eco-friendly ingredients happens only in compost-fueled trucks. (There are so many ways to snark on those requirements that I simply can’t pick one.) What they object to is the sale of ice cream within the park’s playgrounds, where it’s actually illegal.

Click to read more ...

10 THINGS TO DO IN PROSPECT PARK THIS SPRING

Spring has sprung. The trees and bushes of Park Slope are filling in with greenleaves and flowers, kissed by a warming sun. This also means our flagship park is increasingly bursting with stuff to enjoy.

Here are 10 things you can do that you might not have done before:

Click to read more ...