Community Corner

In August, a Free (Carousel) Ride in Prospect Park

On Thursdays next month, kids can board the vintage amusement all afternoon at no charge.

Kids will be able to ride Prospect Park’s historic carousel for free every Thursday in August.

Adults who ride with the kids (which is required for kids under 3) must still buy tickets, but kids will be able to ride as many times as they want for free

The perk was made possible by Astoria Federal Savings Bank, which has done so for the past few summers.

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“People definitely take advantage of it,” said Prospect Park Spokesman Eugene Patron, noting that “generations of people who have grown up with the carousel” come to the park to ride it.

“And a free ride, who’s going to pass that up?” he added.

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Prospect Park has had carousels since 1874, but the first two burned down. In 1952 the park received its current carousel, which was carved in 1912 by master carver Charles Carmel.  

One of only 12 remaining Carmel designs, the carousel spent the first half of the century in Coney Island. Its 53 horses are considered particularly lifelike thanks to Carmel’s frequent observance of horses at the Prospect Park Horse Stables. There is also a lion, a giraffe, a deer, and two dragon-pulled chariots.

In 1983 the carousel was shut down because the park couldn’t afford to pay for badly needed repairs, but it was reopened in 1990 after the Prospect Park Alliance raised $800,000 for an extensive renovation.

The carousel, which is wheelchair accessible, is open Thursdays through Sundays, from 12 – 6 p.m.  in the summer and 12 – 5 p.m. after Labor Day. (5 p.m. after Labor Day).   

Rides cost $2, or $9 for a book of five rides.  An adult (who must buy a ticket) must accompany children under 3. However, those who join the Prospect Park Alliance at the $100 level get free rides for a year for four members of the family. The carousel is also available for children’s birthday parties.

The Carousel is located in the Park’s Children's Corner, just inside the Willink entrance to the Park, at Ocean and Flatbush Avenues and Empire Boulevard. The nearest subways are the Q, S, or B Train to Prospect Park station.


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