BAM Park Accidentally Opens to the Public Following Spike Lee Film Shoot

As quickly as it opened, BAM Park has closed once again. But what does Spike Lee have to do with it?

Dangerously unstable and locked for more than a decade, BAM Park in Fort Greene unexpectedly opened to the public in recent days, as we reported Monday. Turns out the opening was a mistake.

“HPD was contacted by a film crew for use of the site,” the press secretary for the site’s owner, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, told Brownstoner in an email. “HPD granted permission but has since learned that the site was not properly secured after each filming session.”

As of this morning, the 14,000-square-foot triangular park bordered by Fulton Street, Lafayette Avenue and St. Felix Street was locked up tight. Meanwhile, work to rehabilitate the park and reopen it to the public continues.

“Plans to permanently improve and reopen the park to the public are moving forward and should begin before the end of this year,” the HPD spokesperson said. “In the meantime, the site will remain secured to ensure the safety of community residents until the rehabilitation work is completed.”

A look at city film permits reveals the film crew was Spike Lee’s. “She’s Gotta Have It,” the Netflix television series produced by Lee and based on his 1986 film of the same name, had a permit to shoot at BAM Park on June 11, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The production has been shooting all over Fort Greene and Clinton Hill for the last few weeks, and Lee’s production office is prominently stationed at 75 South Elliott Place.

The film crew has nicely spruced up the park, and this morning a sprinkler was watering the grass.

Walking past the park this weekend, we noticed the gates were open and a few residents had found a place to sit on one of the benches.

The park, which sits atop the Fulton Street G train stop, opened in 1985. The park’s underlying structure is crumbling, making the park dangerous to walk in, and it closed in 2005.

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and landscape architect Quennell Rothschild & Partners are spearheading a revamp that will fix the safety issues.

Lee’s production company, 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks, has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Related Stories

• Fort Greene’s BAM Park Suddenly Opens After Years of Being Overgrown and Locked
• City Requests Proposals to Improve BAM Park in Fort Greene
• A Portrait of the Bed Stuy Block Where Spike Lee’s ‘Do the Right Thing’ Was Filmed

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