Bronx Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, April 11, 2002

TOY SOLDIERS INVADE MADISON SQUARE PARK

By 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the playground at Madison Square Park was filled with seemingly tireless children thrilled to be out on that spring day. This is a typical scene in playgrounds around the city, but in this case, these energetic children were the first to enjoy the new play equipment in Madison Square Park. On Tuesday, April 9, the ribbon was cut at Madison Square Park of a new playground decorated with old-fashioned style

Parks and the City Parks Foundation hosted over a hundred people Tuesday morning to celebrate the final touches on the newly renovated Madison Square Park. Commissioner Benepe and Borough Commissioner Castro were joined at the podium by Council Member Christine Quinn, former Commissioner of the Department of City Planning Joseph Rose, and Bill Lukashok, a member of the Campaign for the New Madison Square Park.

The new playground has been updated with new play equipment, safety surfacing, animal art, a drinking fountain, gates, fences, and benches. Old-fashioned toy soldiers decorate the play equipment. Scenes from the poem "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear are depicted on the fence of the swings. The spray shower has oversized alphabet blocks that spray water in the shape of a pinwheel. The roofs of the play equipment mirror the "Mansard" style of surrounding buildings like the MetLife building. And finally, as requested by neighborhood residents, an area was designed for storytelling and make-believe games, complete with a child-size bench in the shape of a cute caterpillar.

Attendees were treated to brightly decorated cupcakes and popcorn from an old-fashioned cart and youngsters had fun blowing bubbles and having their faces painted by Divina Moore, Youth Coordinator in Manhattan. This celebration marked the completion of Madison Square Park’s revival. Last June a $5 million renovation was completed that was accomplished because of a unique public-private partnership. Of the many updates, the park was outfitted with a Victorian fountain and a contemporary reflecting pool. The $750,000 in renovations on the playground completes a project led by residents and businesses in the Madison Square Park area and the results are magnificent.

(Thursday, April 20, 1989)

Despite Saturday’s steady downpour, hardy Boy Scouts braved muddy conditions to spread wood chips along a 350-foot nature trail in Pugsley Creek Park in the Bronx, as a grand finale to the agency’s "5X5" clean-up blitz of the 74-acre site. Neighborhood volunteers and Parkies who joined the soggy Boy Scouts sipped hot chocolate and celebrated the successful spruce-up.

Commissioner Stern thanked Parks workers and volunteers for coming out in the rain. David Malatzky, Activities Chairman for Eastern District of the Boy Scouts of America, gave Commissioner Stern a certificate of appreciation. Bronx Parks Commissioner James A. Ryan, APRM Jill Weber, PPS Everett Frederick, and Santos Murillo, Treasurer of the Coalition of Neighborhoods in Action, also received certificates.

"It is not love, but lack of love, which is blind."

(April 11, 1901- 1987)