Bowling Green

The Daily Plant : Friday, December 22, 2000

PARKS IN CHARGE!

Parks rounded up revelers Wednesday, December 20 to wish Charging Bull a wild 11th Birthday. Weighing in at 7,000 pounds, this 8-foot Charger has stared down oncoming traffic at the tip of Bowling Green for eleven years to the day. Charging Bull, sculpted in bronze by Arturo DiModica, first appeared under a tree at the New York Stock Exchange as a surprise Christmas gift to the City of New York. Soon after, it moved to its current corral at Bowling Green. And there it has remained since December 20, 1989. Designed by the artist to represent "the strength, power and hope of the American people for the future," Charging Bull bears witness to the ready stance of New Yorkers who face down a challenge whether the market is bear or bull.

Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern and Manhattan Borough Commissioner Adrian (A-Train) Benepe were out for the hoe-down. They greeted 30 little Cowhands in hats, lined up for the fireworks' 11 gun salute. Performers from the Big Apple Circus joined the crowd in singing Happy Birthday, and merrymakers shared cake large enough to feed a hungry beast. With full bellies, kids rode a bucking "bungee bull" and hung on tight-more headstrong New Yorkers in the making.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, December 28, 1987)

THE YEAR IN REVIEW: CAPITAL PROJECTS 1987

1987 was a productive year for Capital Projects, which continued to rebuild the city's 26,000 acres of parkland while improving its ability to keep projects within budget and on time.

"We've worked hard to bring a sense of business along with design excellence to park greening and building," said Deputy Commissioner for Capital Projects Alan Moss. "Our plan for the new Computer Aided Design and Drafting system, which will bring more work in-house, and our stronger control over design consultants and construction contractors will pay off in greater productivity, community satisfaction and restored parks.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Nothing, I am sure, calls forth the faculties so much
as being obliged to struggle with the world."

Mary Wollstonecraft
(1759-1797)