Van Cortlandt Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Citywide Nursery Prepares For A Long Winter

Photo courtesy of Richie Cabo.

On December 3rd and 4th, the Citywide Nursery hosted a staff volunteer day in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Staff from Olmsted Central Forestry came out in force to help winterize the 22 brand new hoop houses at the Citywide Nursery. They worked to install white poly coverings that will protect the plants over the winter. Supervisors Albert Ayala and David Tapia, joined by their Bronx Pact horticulture crew, were already on site for two weeks previous to assist with the difficult winterizing task. Last week, staff from Staten Island’s Native Plant Center and The Natural Resource Group joined the crew to protect the nurseries’ plants throughout the winter months. Richie Cabo, director of the Citywide Nursery, extends his thanks for the support and assistance.

PARKS “FLIPS THE SWITCH” ON HOLIDAY SEASON
WITH ARSENAL LIGHTING

Yesterday evening, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined members of the Friends of the Arsenal, students from all five boroughs in the All City High School Chorus and park visitors to flip the switch on the holiday season with energy-efficient decorative lights at the Central Park Arsenal.

The historic New York City landmark is once again green for the holiday season thanks to generous funding from the Friends of the Arsenal, a group of dedicated New Yorkers who advise on strategic improvements, provide financial support and expand the public activities that take place in the Arsenal. It is “green” in more ways than one: the green lighting scheme was designed by Holiday Image and installed by Parks’ Five Borough Shops, and the energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights will be on display through the month of January.

For nearly 100 years, the Parks Department has participated in the civic celebrations that accompany the holiday season, whether by contributing trees, sponsoring festive programs, or working with community groups to celebrate the season. Holiday celebrations occur all throughout the city’s parks and recreation facilities. The tradition of the City Hall Christmas Tree Lighting continues. Since 1977, the Lubavitch sect has been erecting “the world’s largest menorah” in Manhattan’s Grand Army Plaza. In the Bronx, tree lightings on Mosholu Parkway and at the Bronx County Courthouse are two of the longest running. Trees are also placed in connection with volunteer groups on City Island in Hawkins Park, Ciccarone Park, St. Mary’s Recreation Center, Crotona Park, and Poe Park.

In Staten Island, the Friends of Westerleigh Park sponsor a Winter Festival and tree lighting, the Conference House Park Association sponsors a Grand Illumination event, Clove Lakes and Faber Parks host tree lightings, and Greenbelt Recreation Center hosts holiday celebrations. Brooklyn’s annual events at Borough Hall are well attended, and in the recent past Queens’ Flushing Meadows Corona Park has sponsored tree lightings for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

CONTRIBUTING TO THE CLARE WEISS EMERGING ARTIST AWARD

Yesterday’s Daily Plant omitted an important detail about the Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award. Those interested in contributing to the Award funding can send checks made payable to the City Parks Foundation, a non-profit, 501(c)(3), to the following address:

Clare Weiss Emerging Artist Award
Art & Antiquities
City of New York Parks & Recreation
The Arsenal
New York, NY 10065
artandantiquities@parks.nyc.gov

All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.”
James Joyce
(1882 - 1941)