GATEKEEPER SPIKE’S FLUB
Director left toxic B’klyn park open
A toxic Brooklyn park closed a decade ago was accidentally opened to the public — because Spike Lee’s crew left the gates ajar after a TV shoot.
The “Crooklyn” director used the 14,000-square-foot BAM Park in Fort Greene to shoot scenes for the second season of his Netflix show “She’s Gotta Have It” on June 11 — and staffers forgot to lock it up when they left, according to city officials.
That same day, Lee posted on Instagram a photo of rapper Fat Joe, who plays Winny Win Winford on the show, and Chyna Layne, who plays Shemekka Epps. The image was tagged near the park, which is named after the Brooklyn Academy of Music across the street.
Locals immediately flocked to the seemingly reopened site to stroll and sunbathe, the Brownstoner blog reported.
The site had been a no-man’s land since 2005, when it was first shuttered because of dangerous, crumbling walkways. The urbanrenewal site had previously been occupied by row houses demol- ished in the early 1980s before the city acquired the land in 1983, according to officials.
An environmental study published in 2012 showed high levels of arsenic, mercury, lead and pesticides in the ground, further delaying the park’s reopening.
On June 17, the city finally caught wind of the film crew’s snafu and locked the gates.
The city Department of Housing Preservation and Development “learned that the site was not properly secured after each filming session,” said agency spokeswoman Juliet Pierre-Antoine.
Lee’s crew was given the key to the gate and was supposed to lock up each night after filming, according to a source.
The director used the triangular park at Lafayette Avenue and Fulton and Saint Felix streets one last time on June 21 to shoot the TV adaptation of his 1986 flick, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment confirmed.
“HPD ensured the site was secured once more after filming completed,” Pierre-Antoine said.
One local took to Twitter to vent her frustration.
“Why can’t BAM Park be open EVERY day?!?” wrote Meredith Craig.
Plans to renovate and reopen the park were first announced in 2014 as part of Mayor de Blasio’s Community Parks Initiative, but its fate remains in flux.
“Plans to permanently improve and reopen the park to the public are moving forward and should begin before the end of this year,” said Pierre-Antoine. “In the meantime, the site will remain secured until the rehabilitation work is completed.”
Lee’s representatives did not return requests for comment.