Dolly's Park
The Material Evolution of a Gowanus Park
In 2021, Assemblage Landscape Architecture worked together with Dolly’s Park board, and NYC GreenThumb on a park redesign that would be a greener, more accessible community space in the Gowanus neighborhood. The design transformed an underutilized gravel lot into a space for community gathering and rejuvenation. The evolution of the park and its materials showcases the story of a unique community and greenspace in Brooklyn, NY.
Dolly’s Park was awarded the 2023 GreenThumb Landscape Design Award.
Earthwork, material salvage, finishing and hardscaping by Field Form . Planting by community volunteers, with special thanks to the Gowanus Canal Conservancy Lowlands Nursery for plant donations. Photography of the finished park by Barrett Doherty .
Photos from 1940 show Dolly's Park sits in the footprint of 503 President St.
Early Transformation
Located in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY. Dolly's Park was once a residential building at 503 President St. In the 70s or 80s, the building collapsed leaving behind an abandoned lot. The property was eventually acquired by the city and sat vacant for many years. In 2013, the land was converted into a public greenspace through the NYC GreenThumb initiative.
The GreenThumb Park initiative began in the 1970s as a way to preserve open space and cultivate community stewardship and engagement across all five NYC boroughs. GreenThumb helps communities start public gardens that are operated and maintained by community volunteers with support from the NYC Parks Department.
Dolly's Namesake
Named in honor of Dolly De Simone, the park is a space to continue the Gowanus legacy of community and stewardship. Dolly, a President Street resident, remembers spending time sharing food and memories on front stoops with neighbors. Years later, the engagement of the same Gowanus community was crucial in the creation of the park.
Greening Gowanus
After years of sitting as a vacant lot following the collapse of a building, Dolly's Park was officially designated as a NYC Green Thumb Park in 2013. In 2021, the redesign of Dolly's began.
After community organizing and advocating, the vacant lot became a GreenThumb Park in 2013, when Dolly's Park joined the short list of public green spaces in Gowanus. The lack of open space in the neighborhood highlights the role GreenThumb project play in dense, urban neighborhoods.
2021 context map showing lack of greenspace in Gowanus.
Concept Development
Park concept plan.
Assemblage worked with Dolly's Park Board on the design, stakeholder engagement, and outreach to local developers for the park implementation. The resulting design has two large entry gardens featuring native plants, newly planted trees, and a garden path made from salvage bricks. In the back, a gently sloping lawn provides a refuge with amphitheater-style seating that will host outdoor events and films. The park pavers create a more accessible area, and the gardens increase stormwater capture with native plants.
Investigations: Where do our Park Materials Come From?
Assemblage prioritizes the use of locally available materials to keep our designs low-impact and low carbon. We try to minimize the use of newly harvested resources such a minerals and wood, and we try to reuse salvaged material whenever possible. We are also interested in the history of our materials because we know each one has an origin story that adds to the unique narrative of the park.
1. Earthwork and Preparations
Many bulk materials, such as soil, sand, and gravel should not be transported long distances because hauling them is fuel-intensive. Dolly's Park builders sourced bulk materials locally whenever possible, and also prioritized the use of recycled materials, such as recycled concrete aggregate.
NYC Office Of Environmental Remediation's Soil Stockpile: Clean Soil
NYC Office Of Environmental Remediation's Soil Stockpile: Clean Soil. Click to expand.
The clean fill soil for Dolly's Park was supplied by the Mayors Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER). "OER operates a clean soil stockpile in East New York, Brooklyn. The facility receives clean soil from construction sites, stores it, and makes it available to City and private projects and for community uses such as community and school gardens. Soil at the stockpile is free. Parties dispose of soil without paying a tipping fee and acquire soil without a soil purchase fee. The soil also has a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, which means the soil is exempt from 6 NYCRR Part 360 regulation and is suitable for beneficial use. Parties that use the stockpile must indemnify the City and provide their own trucks."
NYC Department Of Transportation RCA Stockpile: Recycled Concrete Aggregate
NYC Department Of Transportation RCA Stockpile: Recycled Concrete Aggregate . Click to expand.
Recycled concrete aggregate is a product made from waste concrete that is crushed into 1" rounded pieces that can be used in place of crushed stone. It is typically used beneath road beds and paving, which is how we used it at Dolly's Park, beneath stone dust as a paver setting bed. This material was supplied through the Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER) stockpile site at a DOT facility called the RCA Bank Stockpile in Sunset Park Brooklyn. "The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) offers quality Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) to private industry and community developments from its yard in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Parties interested in obtaining RCA must send trucks to Sunset Park where DOT will load trucks with RCA at no cost. DOT produces RCA from recycling, screening and crushing waste concrete from its city-wide Sidewalk Program. The RCA is ¾” minus, meets New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)’s restricted residential soil standard and has a Beneficial Use Determination from DEC’s Division of Materials Management per 6 NYCRR Part 360.12(c)(3)(viii).
Stone Dust Quarry
Stone Dust Quarry. Click to expand.
The stone dust came from a secondary supplier who was unable to trace it's origins - our investigation got as far as a mountain in Pennsylvania. The location shown is midway between several quarries. It is difficult to track materials that may be mixed with other materials in processing.
NYC Parks: Concrete Blocks
NYC Parks: Concrete Blocks. Click to expand.
CMU (concrete masonry units) blocks were brought to Dolly's Park by Green Thumb from their yard in Long Island City, Queens.
NYC Office Of Environmental Remediation's Soil Stockpile: Clean Soil
The clean fill soil for Dolly's Park was supplied by the Mayors Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER). "OER operates a clean soil stockpile in East New York, Brooklyn. The facility receives clean soil from construction sites, stores it, and makes it available to City and private projects and for community uses such as community and school gardens. Soil at the stockpile is free. Parties dispose of soil without paying a tipping fee and acquire soil without a soil purchase fee. The soil also has a Beneficial Use Determination (BUD) from the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, which means the soil is exempt from 6 NYCRR Part 360 regulation and is suitable for beneficial use. Parties that use the stockpile must indemnify the City and provide their own trucks."
NYC Department Of Transportation RCA Stockpile: Recycled Concrete Aggregate
Recycled concrete aggregate is a product made from waste concrete that is crushed into 1" rounded pieces that can be used in place of crushed stone. It is typically used beneath road beds and paving, which is how we used it at Dolly's Park, beneath stone dust as a paver setting bed. This material was supplied through the Mayor's Office of Environmental Remediation (MOER) stockpile site at a DOT facility called the RCA Bank Stockpile in Sunset Park Brooklyn. "The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) offers quality Recycled Concrete Aggregate (RCA) to private industry and community developments from its yard in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Parties interested in obtaining RCA must send trucks to Sunset Park where DOT will load trucks with RCA at no cost. DOT produces RCA from recycling, screening and crushing waste concrete from its city-wide Sidewalk Program. The RCA is ¾” minus, meets New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)’s restricted residential soil standard and has a Beneficial Use Determination from DEC’s Division of Materials Management per 6 NYCRR Part 360.12(c)(3)(viii).
The RCA is a suitable sub-base material beneath a road or sidewalk. It has been used successfully as a load-bearing material to support a crane at the bottom of a construction site and is suitable for raising grades and filling in behind foundations."
Stone Dust Quarry
The stone dust came from a secondary supplier who was unable to trace it's origins - our investigation got as far as a mountain in Pennsylvania. The location shown is midway between several quarries. It is difficult to track materials that may be mixed with other materials in processing.
NYC Parks: Concrete Blocks
CMU (concrete masonry units) blocks were brought to Dolly's Park by Green Thumb from their yard in Long Island City, Queens.
2. Reclaimed Materials
Recovering and reusing materials was a significant design goal. Materials like pavers, timbers, trees, and bricks were salvaged from from nearby demolition projects in the neighborhood. Salvaged materials have a story to tell, and by reusing them instead of throwing them away, we can honor their past while prolonging their life in a new way.
Construction Site: Salvaged Bricks
Construction Site: Salvaged Bricks. Click to expand.
Bricks were salvaged by Field Form from the demolition of a historic Gowanus warehouse and used as pavers at Dolly's Park. The final use of the warehouse was the Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse, a facility that allowed New Yorkers to drop off and recycle discarded, old, and/or broken electronics for free. The goal of the Gowanus E-Waste was to reduce the contamination that the toxic electronic parts would add to our landfills, and ultimately, our environment. After demolition, the warehouse site was developed for residential use.
Terry Brothers Brickyard: Brick Manufacturing
Terry Brothers Brickyard: Brick Manufacturing. Click to expand.
Bricks that were salvaged from the demolition of a warehouse building in Gowanus, Brooklyn were originally manufactured in the Hudson Valley Brickyards. Some of the bricks were identified to have come from the Terry Brothers company in Ulster, New York. From Hudson River & New England Brick Collection and Identifier: The TERRY brand was made from mixed blue and yellow clay. The TERRYBROS brand was made from blue clay alone. The Terry yards were founded in 1850 by David Terry. At his death in 1869, the business was taken up by his sons Albert and Edwin. In 1902, Edwin retired and the concern was incorporated as The Terry Bros. Co. Albert was elected president, Jay Terry vice-president and David Terry, secretary and treasurer. (SOURCE: Hall, Charles Ellery, The Story of Brick)
South Brooklyn Casket Company: Salvaged Timber
South Brooklyn Casket Company: Salvaged Timber. Click to expand.
Timber was salvaged from a nearby demolition site of the South Brooklyn Casket Company building, and used to build benches at Dolly's Park. The timber is yellow pine, which was likely harvested in the Southern states in the 1930's when the Casket Company constructed the warehouse. Field Form cut the timbers to size on the sidewalk and trsnsported them around the corner to the park on a dolly.
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Salt Lot: Serviceberry Trees
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Salt Lot: Serviceberry Trees. Click to expand.
Trees were salvaged from the former location of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy's Salt Lot. These serviceberry trees were transplanted in Dolly's Park.
NYC Parks Department: Salvaged Tree Stumps
NYC Parks Department: Salvaged Tree Stumps. Click to expand.
A street tree was felled by the NYC Parks Dept because of the Ash Borer and and Assemblage salvaged the stumps for temporary seating in Dolly's Park
Construction Site: Salvaged Bricks
Bricks were salvaged by Field Form from the demolition of a historic Gowanus warehouse and used as pavers at Dolly's Park. The final use of the warehouse was the Gowanus E-Waste Warehouse, a facility that allowed New Yorkers to drop off and recycle discarded, old, and/or broken electronics for free. The goal of the Gowanus E-Waste was to reduce the contamination that the toxic electronic parts would add to our landfills, and ultimately, our environment. After demolition, the warehouse site was developed for residential use.
Terry Brothers Brickyard: Brick Manufacturing
Bricks that were salvaged from the demolition of a warehouse building in Gowanus, Brooklyn were originally manufactured in the Hudson Valley Brickyards. Some of the bricks were identified to have come from the Terry Brothers company in Ulster, New York. From Hudson River & New England Brick Collection and Identifier: The TERRY brand was made from mixed blue and yellow clay. The TERRYBROS brand was made from blue clay alone. The Terry yards were founded in 1850 by David Terry. At his death in 1869, the business was taken up by his sons Albert and Edwin. In 1902, Edwin retired and the concern was incorporated as The Terry Bros. Co. Albert was elected president, Jay Terry vice-president and David Terry, secretary and treasurer. (SOURCE: Hall, Charles Ellery, The Story of Brick)
The Haverstraw Brick Museum is still researching the history and labor practices of the Hudson Valley Brick Manufacturers: For over a century, the Village of Haverstraw was a refuge, a sanctuary, and an opportunity for millions of immigrants and African American migrant workers from all over the world to work in the brickyards. Their combined labors contributed to building one of the greatest cities in the world, New York. Working in the brickyards was hard, dusty, and difficult labor. First-hand accounts describe the workers walking up Main Street, followed by a cloud of red brick dust, their once white shirts a pale salmon color after a day of working in the brickyards. Maintaining the coal fires for the scove kilns, which could contain upward of 30 to 50,000 bricks per arch (one kiln could contain eight to forty arches depending on the kiln size equaling 300-400,000 bricks per kiln), was a hot, dangerous job. Kilns reached a high temperature of 1,700-1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Workers maintained for up to ten hours to mature into hard bricks before being slowly cooled for a week and manually dismantled.
South Brooklyn Casket Company: Salvaged Timber
Timber was salvaged from a nearby demolition site of the South Brooklyn Casket Company building, and used to build benches at Dolly's Park. The timber is yellow pine, which was likely harvested in the Southern states in the 1930's when the Casket Company constructed the warehouse. Field Form cut the timbers to size on the sidewalk and trsnsported them around the corner to the park on a dolly.
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Salt Lot: Serviceberry Trees
Trees were salvaged from the former location of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy's Salt Lot. These serviceberry trees were transplanted in Dolly's Park.
NYC Parks Department: Salvaged Tree Stumps
A street tree was felled by the NYC Parks Dept because of the Ash Borer and and Assemblage salvaged the stumps for temporary seating in Dolly's Park
3. Final Details
All materials have a unique point of origin. Those points of origin also have their own individual web of source points within them. For example, a nursery plant needs a plastic pot, potting soil, water, and a whole chain of materials to produce one single plant. While we can trace where we source plants from, going deeper into the web that plant is challenging. We find this challenge to be crucial in the design process of creating a more mindful and sustainably built landscape.
Belden Brick Company: Clay Brick Pavers
Belden Brick Company: Clay Brick Pavers. Click to expand.
Belden extracts their clay from quarries within an 8 mile radius of their plant. From Belden's website: "The Belden Brick Company, a long-standing pillar in the brick industry, is the largest family-owned brick manufacturer in the United States. Built on the principles of integrity, community, quality, and service, our company upholds the traditions set forth by our early leaders, Henry S. Belden and Paul Belden, Sr. Although we have expanded a lot since 1885, growth has been organic, and we’re still an independent company with a small, passionate team. The core of our vision and success are our craftsmen in Sugarcreek, Ohio, home to a highly-skilled brickmaking community upholding tradition since the 19th century.
Luisi Building Materials: Clay Brick Pavers & Stone Dust
Luisi Building Materials: Clay Brick Pavers & Stone Dust. Click to expand.
The Clay Brick Pavers and Stone Dust were sourced from Luisi Building Supply, a Brooklyn-based shop. Luisi had end-stock pavers in small quantities that were sufficient for the paving design of Dolly's Park, and we were happy to be able to give these great quality clay pavers a home in our park. We liked the idea of using pavers that would otherwise be hard to sell and possibly go to landfill if Luisi couldn't sell them, and we were very happy with the results.
Eastern Steel Corporation: Steel Edging
Eastern Steel Corporation: Steel Edging. Click to expand.
Eastern Steel supplied hot rolled strip flat bar which was used as steel edging at Dolly Park.
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Lowlands Nursery: Perennials & Grasses
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Lowlands Nursery: Perennials & Grasses. Click to expand.
Perennial plants and grasses were sourced from a local native plant nursery in Brooklyn operated by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.
Pleasant Run Nursery: Perennials & Grasses
Pleasant Run Nursery: Perennials & Grasses. Click to expand.
Perennial plants and grasses were sourced from Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown, New Jersey.
Ernst Seeds: Native Seed Supplier
Ernst Seeds: Native Seed Supplier. Click to expand.
Lawn and clover seed for Dolly's Park were sourced from Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville, PA
Black Kow Compost: Compost Supplier
Black Kow Compost: Compost Supplier. Click to expand.
This location is approximate. Black Kow sources their manure from North Carolina and this point is central to a high concentration of dairy farms.
NYC Parks Green Thumb: Hardwood Mulch
NYC Parks Green Thumb: Hardwood Mulch. Click to expand.
Mulch was supplied by NYC Parks Green Thumb and delivered by truck to Dolly's Park during the summer of 2023.
Belden Brick Company: Clay Brick Pavers
Belden extracts their clay from quarries within an 8 mile radius of their plant. From Belden's website: "The Belden Brick Company, a long-standing pillar in the brick industry, is the largest family-owned brick manufacturer in the United States. Built on the principles of integrity, community, quality, and service, our company upholds the traditions set forth by our early leaders, Henry S. Belden and Paul Belden, Sr. Although we have expanded a lot since 1885, growth has been organic, and we’re still an independent company with a small, passionate team. The core of our vision and success are our craftsmen in Sugarcreek, Ohio, home to a highly-skilled brickmaking community upholding tradition since the 19th century.
In 1914, the company expanded from Canton into Tuscarawas County when the Belden Face Brick Company, a personal venture of Henry S. Belden and later owned by The Belden Brick Company, was started. In 1946, Sugarcreek's first venture occurred when the Finzer Brothers Clay Company agreed to sell its operations to The Belden Brick Company. Today, The Belden Brick Company owns and operates five brickmaking plants and one thin brick sawing facility, employs approximately 500 people, and has over 200 million standard brick equivalents annually. Also expanding our family brand are our brick distributorships, Belden Tri-State Building Materials based in New York and Philadelphia, Belden Brick Sales in Michigan, and Premier Brick Sales, LLC, our joint venture in Indianapolis, Indiana area."
Luisi Building Materials: Clay Brick Pavers & Stone Dust
The Clay Brick Pavers and Stone Dust were sourced from Luisi Building Supply, a Brooklyn-based shop. Luisi had end-stock pavers in small quantities that were sufficient for the paving design of Dolly's Park, and we were happy to be able to give these great quality clay pavers a home in our park. We liked the idea of using pavers that would otherwise be hard to sell and possibly go to landfill if Luisi couldn't sell them, and we were very happy with the results.
Luisi sources their stone dust from a quarry in Pennsylvania.
Eastern Steel Corporation: Steel Edging
Eastern Steel supplied hot rolled strip flat bar which was used as steel edging at Dolly Park.
Gowanus Canal Conservancy Lowlands Nursery: Perennials & Grasses
Perennial plants and grasses were sourced from a local native plant nursery in Brooklyn operated by the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.
Pleasant Run Nursery: Perennials & Grasses
Perennial plants and grasses were sourced from Pleasant Run Nursery in Allentown, New Jersey.
Ernst Seeds: Native Seed Supplier
Lawn and clover seed for Dolly's Park were sourced from Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville, PA
Black Kow Compost: Compost Supplier
This location is approximate. Black Kow sources their manure from North Carolina and this point is central to a high concentration of dairy farms.
NYC Parks Green Thumb: Hardwood Mulch
Mulch was supplied by NYC Parks Green Thumb and delivered by truck to Dolly's Park during the summer of 2023.
