Day: April 23, 2025

A new sculpture celebrating mothers and all caregivers was unveiled in Prospect Park on April 22. 

The coil-like, 15-foot-tall bronze interactive installation is part of artist Molly Gochman’s “Monuments to Motherhood” series, paying homage to caregivers whose vast contributions all too often go unnoticed.

The sculpture’s two interconnected loops symbolize relationships and support, while the open space below the loops invites the community to gather and discuss issues like motherhood and caregiving.

Gochman told Brooklyn Paper that her series celebrates the enduring work of caregivers across generations and acknowledges the labor of parents, nurses, childcare workers, and home health aides, who are the fabric of society.

She intentionally chose the sculpture’s location, which has a view of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Arch at Grand Army Plaza -the arch is one of the many public monuments depicting war and men.

With her series, Gochman seeks to change the narrative of statues glorifying violence and men. According to City Hall, only eight of New York City’s 150 public monuments honoring historical figures are women. Instead, she wants to use public spaces to elevate the stories of caregivers and the community, which remain vastly underrepresented in civic spaces.

“I grew up with monuments to violence, and I wanted to create monuments to care,” Gochman explained. “I call it “Monuments to Motherhood” because I’m inviting us to care for ourselves, each other, and the land in a mothering way. So, I’m inviting us to have a more expansive definition of both monuments and motherhood.”

Gochman said the embracing loops symbolize the importance of supporting each other.

“It is two loops supporting one another, and they can’t stand alone. They require each other, but they’re only able to stand because of the land on which they’re standing,” she said. “It’s art for all of us, and when we feel like maybe there aren’t private spaces that feel safe or welcoming, this is a public space that is your park. It welcomes you every day.”

The sculpture is part of NYC Parks’ Art in the Parks program and will be on view in Prospect Park until May 2026.

Morgan Monaco, president of the Prospect Park Alliance, expressed her gratitude to Gochman for shining a light on caregivers whose work often went unnoticed.

“When you care for somebody, whether it’s your mother, whether it’s your father, whether it’s a relative, whether it’s a friend, whether it’s a child, that’s an act of love, and I think that we all need more acts of love in this particular moment right now,” Monaco said.

Atiba Edwards, president and CEO at Brooklyn Children’s Museum, told Brooklyn Paper that Prospect Park was the “backyard” for many Brooklynites and the sculpture amplified the importance of working together as humans and as Brooklynites. 

NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue said the parks department was proud to enhance public spaces with world-class art installations and grateful to Gochman and the  Prospect Park Alliance for “bringing a thought-provoking piece to Brooklyn’s backyard.”

“It is so fitting that Monuments to Motherhood is taking its place in Prospect Park. Just as caregivers do, our public greenspaces make communities safer and stronger, helping New Yorkers connect with one another and find inspiration in the great outdoors. In turn, we care for our public parks through stewardship, ensuring these vital living resources remain resilient and healthy for generations to come,” Donoghue said in a statement. 

Prospect Park Alliance and Gochman will host a special gathering at the sculpture in honor of Mother’s Day on May 11 to engage the public in conversations about motherhood, caregiving, and how to honor the collective histories.

For more information about “Monuments to Motherhood,” visit its podcast, which explores themes like caregiving and motherhood.

An all-hands fire burned through multiple buildings and left several homes and businesses damaged in Brownsville on Wednesday morning. 

The fire broke out in a deli on Newport Street between Saratoga Avenue and East 98th Street just before 10:30 a.m., according to the FDNY. Smoke and flames quickly spread to the buildings beside the deli and threatened the apartments above it.

Some sixty firefighters were called in to battle the blaze, and were able to bring the fire under control by 11:17 a.m. One resident was injured, per the FDNY, but refused medical attention on the scene.

The fire left at least three businesses charred and smoking, and shattered the large glass windows of the deli and a neighboring barbershop. 

Firefighters requested a structural inspection of a 900 Saratoga Ave., two-story building at the corner of Newport Street that was damaged by the blaze, records show, and reported an illegal apartment without a proper exit in the basement of the building.

“They’ve been trying to burn us out of these buildings for some time,” one resident told Brooklyn Paper. “They want us out to grow the neighborhood.”

The FDNY’s fire marshal will investigate the cause of the fire. 

City records show that both 9 Newport St., where the fire is believed to have begun, and 900 Saratoga Ave. have amassed dozens of Department of Buildings and Department of Housing Preservation and Development violations. 

In 2012, a fire destroyed 9 Newport St., a two-story mixed use building with four residential units, according to HPD records. At the time, DOB issued a full vacate order due to “extensive fire damage.” The order wasn’t lifted until 2022.

The GRAMMY Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus has announced the performance schedule for “Port(al),” its latest work.

The post GRAMMY-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus to hold annual Spring Gala before first independently-produced work on May 1 appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.