Community Corner
Beyoncé And Jay-Z Dedicate Prospect Park Bench To Grandma: Report
The power couple were spotted in the Prospect Park lake on Christmas snapping photos of the new bench, photos show.

PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN -- Beyoncé, Jay-Z and the family came to Prospect Park on Christmas to snap photos of a memorial bench dedicated to the rap artist's grandmother, according to photos and reports.
Photos show the power couple snapping photos of a new bench, honoring Hattie White, near the Abraham Lincoln Statue in the Flower Garden near the LeFrak Center.
"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago," the bench inscription reads. "With love and inspiration to our root, Hattie White."
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Beyoncé e JAY-Z com toda a família mostrando o presente de natal da avó de JAY-Z, um banco com o nome dela no Brooklyn's Prospect Park em NY. “Alguém está sentado na sombra hoje porque alguém plantou uma árvore há muito tempo. Com amor e admiração à nossa raiz, Hattie White.” pic.twitter.com/Ui0tYv8Ygv
— Beyoncé Access (@babrmedia) December 26, 2018
Daily Mail was first to report Jay-Z, Beyoncé, White, 6-year-old Blue Ivy and their 18-month-old twins Rumi and Sir enjoying the mild weather and the new bench in Prospect Park.
The couple has often payed tribute to White, 93, whose voice can be heard at the end of Beyoncé’s song, “Freedom," in an album that references her words, according to an Ebony report.
Find out what's happening in Prospect Heights-Crown Heightsfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up," White says. "I was served lemons, but I made lemonade."
View this post on InstagramFor Christmas this year Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter, Beyoncé and their three children Blue Ivy, Rumi and Sir gifted Jay’s 93-year-old Grandma Hattie White a park bench in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Dedicated in her name, the touching inscription reads “Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. With love and admiration to our root, Hattie White.” The Carter family are back in New York City for the holidays, and were photographed viewing the bench on Christmas morning with Hattie and Hov’s mother Gloria Carter. Hattie White was a formative figure in Shawn Carter’s life, with her famous banana pudding holding a key to happiness while they lived in the Marcy Houses. In the final moments of the LEMONADE standout “FREEDOM” the root of the Carter dynasty can be heard speaking during her 90th birthday party in October 2015, delivering us a piece of wisdom we can all apply to our own lives: “I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.” Jigga’s most real (see: heart-breaking) reference to his Yaya came in 2002 on his Blueprint² track “I Did It My Way”: “Grandma’s favorite, she could not understand how there’s people in the world who wouldn’t want me as a neighbor? Has to explain to her, ‘You think these folks want me in the penthouse as a reminder that I make top paper?’” This four bar stanza refers to Jay’s disrupted purchase of his seventh-floor penthouse on 195 Hudson Street in TriBeCa. Buying from advertising executive Peter Arnell and his wife Sarah, the original sale negotiations and $6.5 million deal were sabotaged and derailed by other tenants in May 2002. Some residents feared Hov would bring his “celebrity lifestyle” to the “placid” halls of their exclusive downtown address. They went so far as to post messages in the lobby warning residents of his “criminal record and lifestyle of knives, guns and violence,” stating “we are of the opinion that due to [Jay-Z’s] lifestyle of violence, if he moves into our building, he will place us in danger.” (Continued in comments) #JAYZ #Beyonce
A post shared by Hovstorian (@aintnojigga) on Dec 26, 2018 at 6:01pm PST
Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Blue Ivy Carter attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS)
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