Your Blueprint for a Brooklyn Summer, Powered By Community

Summer in Brooklyn has everything to offer — the parks fill up, the streets stay loud, and neighbors find ways to gather. Behind all the activity are the organizers, community groups, and nonprofits making it happen. With so much going on all season it can be hard to decide where to start, so we asked our team at Brooklyn Org to help map out different blueprints for a summer day in the borough. Below, we’ve imagined some itineraries to explore neighborhoods across Brooklyn and support local communities — choose your own adventure!

Fun & History | Best For: Families

Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Weeksville

Start your day in Prospect Heights with the Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays or their weekend pop-up outdoor market, then stroll through the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or check out the playgrounds, open fields, and winding paths of Prospect Park. Bring the kids to the Prospect Park Zoo, or spend an afternoon at Weeksville Heritage Center, where a row of preserved homes marks the site of one of the country’s earliest free Black communities. Nearby, the Brooklyn Community Pride Center is celebrating Pride all month long, with events ranging from film screenings, exercise classes, book clubs, and more.

Get Outdoors! | Best For: Active Types

Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Marine Park, and Canarsie

There’s nothing like a summer day in Coney Island. Ride the Cyclone, catch a Brooklyn Cyclones game, or grab something from a local food cart right by the boardwalk, where street vendors serve up everything from elote to fried shrimp and more (if you’ve ever wanted to learn more about New York’s smallest small businesses — street vendors — our partners at Street Vendor Project are building power for workers across the city through grassroots organizing and advocacy). If you’re still hungry on your way home, detour through Brighton Beach and stop by local Uzbek markets for snacks and full meals from the hot bar.

Nearby, the Marine Park Alliance hosts tons of activities for all ages: from bird walks and silent discos to kayak trips and printmaking all held in Brooklyn’s largest park.

Further east, Shirley Chisholm State Park offers wide walking trails and breezy bike paths. It’s one of the borough’s newest parks, sitting on the site of a former landfill, now full of green spaces and open skies.

Down at Canarsie Pier, you’ll find people fishing, barbecuing, and gathering with family. Local nonprofit The Flossy Organization has been advocating for the city to extend ferry service here, as part of their broader work for transit equity in Canarsie, where reliable, affordable transportation is still out of reach for too many.

Taste The World | Best For: Foodies & Environmental Champions

Red Hook, Sunset Park, and Bay Ridge

Red Hook Farms runs two of the city’s largest youth-led urban farms, and you can volunteer with them on Saturdays to plant, harvest, and even feed chickens! Neighbors line up early for the weekly farm stands to get fresh produce grown just a few blocks from the waterfront.

Catch the ferry to Sunset Park in time for golden hour. Along 5th Avenue, you can taste the world—tacos al pastor, pan dulce, roast duck, and pupusas, all served steps apart. The local park offers an increasingly rare view of the Manhattan skyline.

Just a few blocks away, Mixteca is always looking for volunteers to support their work with immigrants across South Brooklyn, including distributing fresh produce and groceries for families. Whether you’re fluent in Spanish and want to help at the front desk, or interested in teaching English or supporting health fairs, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

In Bay Ridge, walk the shoreline at Owl’s Head Park and catch the sunset over the harbor. Nearby, the Parent-Child Relationship Association leads regular cleanups at Leif Ericson and McKinley Parks, with volunteer opportunities happening throughout the summer.

However you spend your summer, it’s the people and places around you that make it feel like home. At Brooklyn Org, we’re proud to support the organizations powering community joy across the borough. Stay connected with our work to explore events, stories, and ways to support community across the borough.