Runners stormed Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery on Friday, zipping past mourners holding flowers as the famous graveyard scrapped its no-jogging rule to accommodate President Obama’s Prospect Park takeover.
About two dozen joggers bounced alongside tombstones, thrilled to work out for the first time inside the historic landmark — but mourners were not as happy to share the space with the sweaty adrenaline junkies.
“This is sacred space,” said Butch Maria, 63, who set a bouquet of flowers on his mother’s grave while runners zoomed by. “It’s not for recreation. They have plenty of other places to run.”
Obama’s visit to Pathways in Technology Early College HS in Crown Heights shut down parts of Prospect Park on Friday, prompting the cemetery to open its gates to joggers for the day.
The runners, many of whom were training for the New York City Marathon, called access to the famous boneyard a great change of scenery.
“This is a dream come true,” said Kate O’grady, a 28-year-old social worker jogging in the park Friday. “I run around the outside all the time, but being able to run through it is awesome.”
Megan Dee said it should be open for exercise more often.
“Space is so finite in the city, it’s good to have things be multipurpose. I don’t think this should become a park — but I think it’s nice to let people come by,” she said.
Yahoo Local News – New York Post
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