Do you want to learn how to sail? Do you want to volunteer to be a captain?

Deep Creek Yacht Club and it’s partners, National Park Service, Rockaway Point Yacht Club, Miramar Yacht Club and Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club teach sailing on Thursday nights during the summer time. We also introduce groups of children to sailing daily in the summer from 9:00AM – 12:00PM. These two programs can be a very rewarding experience for the children, adults and you. If you are interested contact the National Park Service office (Jennifer) at (718) 338-3799 or Harold Hohne for more information.

Basic and advanced sailing programs will be available at Floyd Bennett Field. The courses will consist of three Thursday evening sessions from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. A course book covering the basics of sailing will be given to each participant. The courses will include a brief classroom introduction in the Ryan Visitor Center and hands on sailing in American 18′ sail boats, located across from the Ryan Center at Gateway Marina. Parking is available. For more information call Jennifer at (718) 338-3799. Three day sessions are scheduled in the summer of 2010 as follows:

Session A. 6-25, 7-8, 7-15
Session B. 7-22, 7-29, 8-5
Session C. 8-12, 8-19, 8-26

The NPS charges a $50.00 fee for each three day session to cover material cost and boat upkeep.(Note: Last year the sessions were closed out). Sign up early by registering in person at the ranger station located at the entrance gate to Floyd Bennett Field, open seven days/week between 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. There is also a program to introduce youngsters in groups of up to 25 to sailing. The summer schedule consists of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday trips. The session starts at 9:00 AM at the Gateway Marina located opposite the Aviator Sports Center in Floyd Bennett field. There is no fee for this activity. For more information call Jennifer at (718) 338-3799

Floyd Bennett Field used to be a naval airfield and the city’s first commercial airport before JFK.

A National Parks Service investigation found that the fuel contamination has left amounts of benzene, naphthalene and other poisons and carcinogens in the soil.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will oversee the cleanup.

Say goodbye to the concorde at Floyd Bennett Field. Its off to the intrepid. I bet its going to be happy in its new home, there will be no buses to destroy it.

Photo Gallery of the Concord leaving Brooklyn

Concord in 2006 by Butch

I didn’t know that the National Parks Service could be fooled so easily.

It turns out that the Duck Curry Competition held over the summer at floyd bennett field that caused a whole slew of traffic and parking problems was never actually given permission or a permit to hold their event.

There was a permit issued for a much smaller group to hold a Cricket match at Floyd Bennett Field that day, but it would appear that was just a ruse to allow a much larger group to take over the area that day for their Duck Curry Competition.

A permit is needed so the proper authorities can close or barricade a street and provide a police presence to assure the safe flow of traffic around the event. As well as someone being held responsible.

And as put in the comments: “So what it comes down to in the end is just a blatant lack of respect for authority and fellow Brooklynites in general.”

Well, it took some time for the National Park Service/Department of Interior to respond to my complaint about this incident, but just as I suspected, there was no permit issued for this type of event that day as large gatherings such as what occured are not permitted during the Summer months at that location,and it was held without the permission of the NPS.

There was a permit issued for a much smaller group to hold a Cricket match at Floyd Bennett Field that day, but it would appear that was just a ruse to allow a much larger group to take over the area that day for their Duck Curry Competition. The Department of Interior has stated that they intend to hold the permit holder accountable for their failure to uphold the terms of their permit.

It’s too bad thay can’t be held liable for all of the extra cost for the extra police officers that were brought in to deal with the problem as well as the cost of the sanitation personnel that had to clean up the extensive amount of trash that was strewn by the roadside by the hundreds of people who parked illegally that day. The NPS has also said that they will take steps to prevent similar mishaps in the future. Let’s hope they do not forget their promise by the time next Summer rolls around.

Original Post: Bikers Complain about Parking Everywhere During Duck Curry Competition

Rep. Anthony Weiner announced today that he has secured $4.8 million in federal funds through the 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill to refurbish and restore the Ryan Center into a world class visitor facility for Gateway National Park’s Jamaica Bay unit – which includes attractions such as bird watching, biking, golfing, boating, a multi-use sports & recreation facility and much more. Weiner has secured over $70 million worth of renovations at Gateway since 1998, work to protect and improve its wetlands, wildlife refuge, nature trails, historic sites, playgrounds, recreation areas and more.

Located at Floyd Bennett Field, the historic Ryan Center served as the passenger terminal to New York City’s first municipal airport. Built in 1931, it is the original building behind which Howard Hughes took off and landed after completing a round-the-world record flight in 1938. Floyd Bennett’s airfield was later used as an aerial hub for fighter planes during World War II and is currently home to a marine reserve unit.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the former passenger terminal will include meeting spaces, exhibits of the unique history of Floyd Bennett Field and offer complete visitor information for the attractions and facilities inside the park. The restoration of the Ryan Center will also turn the building’s vintage control tower, which was originally built by the Navy on the eve of World War II, into a unique panoramic view deck, with views out into Jamaica Bay and towards the New York City skyline.

Here is a video from someone who was actually at the healing field on September 11th. Im glad people toughed it out to be there in the rain.

[video]http://youtube.com/watch?v=kQ6LMCN7PDI[/video]

• 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Gerritsen Beach branch of Brooklyn Public Library, will feature a music for peace concert by Celeste Ray Celtic Music
• 6:00 p.m. Marine Park Memorial – Prayers and music at the field house near Fillmore Avenue.
• 7:00 p.m. Larry Veiling Field Memorial

More event listings here and here

Over at Floyd Bennett Field until Wednesday September 12th is the 9/11 Healing field hosted by the Nation Park Service and Trauma Response Assistance for Children (TRAC).

This field has more than three thousand 3×5′ flags all stand 8 foot tall in perfect rows and columns across a field of green. It is truly a site to go check out.

Each flag at the site can be sponsored for $35 dollars and will benefit the following organizations

• The New York Firefighters Burn Center
• The NYPD Police Athletic League
• Friends of Firefighters
• Trauma Response Assistance for Children
• FealGood Foundation
• Operation Family Fund
• Operation Thank You

More Healing Field Pictures

Floyd Bennett Field Fly-In and Display Experience a Day of Aviation History (current military aircraft, flying in and on display, vintage police cars, buses)

September 8th and 9th , 2007

Experiencing history once again…

Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn’s 1250-acre unique urban national park played a major role in the ‘Golden Age’ of aviation, serving as the start or end point for flights by the best-known aviation pioneers of the 1930s (including Wiley Post, Amelia Earhart, and Howard Hughes). With the outbreak of World War II, the Field became a Naval Air Station, serving as the departure point for numerous military flights. In 1972, it became part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.

On display were:

• A replica of the Wright Brothers first manned airplane, the Wright Flyer.
• Aircraft Fighters: Eastern TBM ‘Avenger’; Vought F4U ‘Corsair’; Curtiss P-40 ‘Warhawk’; North American P-51 ‘Mustang’
• Cargo Planes: Douglas C-47 ‘Skytrain’; Douglas C-54 ‘Skymaster’; Fairchild C-123K ‘Provider’; Lockheed C-130 ‘Hercules
• Observation/Trainers: Auster A.O.P. 6; Boeing-Stearman PT-17 ‘Kaydet’; Cessna 210-L; de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth; Fairchild 24-R; Piper J-3 ‘Cub’

Every city and state and federal agencies looked like they were on hand.

I took a lot of pictures so check them out in the gallery