In an article on The Albany Government Law Review Fireplace blog by Andrew Stengel, they argue that the proposed placement of Jane’s Carousel in the Empire Fulton Ferry Park contradicts the purposes of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant. Jane’s Carousel is loved by many (for example see Brooklyn Paper article), but some also believe a carousel in the park will bring unwanted noise, pollution, and traffic to the area (prior post on this). We’ll quote a piece of Mr. Stengel’s conclusions here:

“The planned carousel for Empire Fulton Ferry Park likely constitutes a conversion—and thus requires approval from the Regional Director of the National Parks Service[36]—because it contradicts the purposes of the grant and it is a non-outdoor recreational use in the LWCF project area. The purpose of the LWCF grant is to protect the waterfront which is “one of the few places on the New York City waterfront that gives visitors true access to the water . . . [and also exists as] a rich habitat for fish, crabs, and birds of the New York Harbor Estuary.”[37] A carousel abutting the waterfront—or anywhere else in the former Empire Fulton Ferry Park—is a clear conflict with the LWCF grant.[38] The carousel would serve as an obstacle to access of the waterfront.[39] Moreover, the carousel, with the proposed large enclosing structure, will obstruct and destroy one of the most famous view corridors to the Brooklyn Bridge and New York City.[40]”

However, read the full Albany Government Law Review Fireplace blog article for the full arguments. We were also able to obtain the original letter of the federal grant (750kb PDF) if you are interested.

(Image rendering courtesy of Jean Nouvel from Brooklyn Eagle)