Central Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, December 18, 2008

Columbia University Brightens Holiday Celebration At Highbridge Recreation Center

On Friday December 5, the Gulf Coast Recovers (GCR) student group from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health helped our after school children celebrate the holidays. The students from Columbia brought professional musicians who performed for the children and professional dance teachers who taught the children how to swing dance. In the spirit of improving literacy the graduate students gave the children books and helped us acquire a large book donation for the recreation center’s library. The Afterschool students were also provided with an all you can eat traditional Latino dinner of baked chicken, roasted pork, salad, rice and beans and platanos manduros! Special thanks to Lucy Anderson and Erin Kutay, representatives and officers from the GCR student group, Jhonnathan Arrango Leonardo Blackman from Aliaza Dominicana, and Highbridge Recreation Center Manager, Artie Maldonado and Afterschool Coordinator, Terrance Hatzigiannis.

Written by Artie Maldonado

CENTRAL PARK ARSENAL GLOWING IN HOLIDAY SPIRIT

If you’ve passed by the Arsenal in the evening recently, you have probably noticed it is once again gloriously decked out for the holidays. On Thursday, December 4, Commissioner Benepe, members of the Friends of the Arsenal, students from all five boroughs in the All City High School Chorus and park visitors officially flipped the switch on the holiday season with energy-efficient decorative lights at the Central Park Arsenal.

“Thanks to a generous contribution from the Friends of the Arsenal, the Arsenal lights are a festive seasonal addition to this historic building,” said Commissioner Benepe. “After a year of renovations to construct a new roof, repoint the brickwork and restore the windows, the Arsenal is greener than ever. We even have the energy-efficient LED lights emitting the holiday spirit through the night.”

Thanks to the Friends of the Arsenal, the historic New York landmark will be green for the entire holiday season. “Green” in more ways than one, the lighting scheme was designed by Holiday Image and installed by Parks’ Five Borough Shops. The energy-efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights will be on display through January.

The Friends of the Arsenal is 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.

The historic Arsenal Building is one of two buildings within the borders of Central Park that predate the park. Built between 1847 and 1851 as a repository for munitions, the Arsenal is a fortress-like structure, with a crenellated cornice and rooftop turrets. In 1857, the City purchased the Arsenal, removed all arms, and established park administrative functions on the premises. Over the ensuing decades it has served as a menagerie, a police station and as the first home of the American Museum of Natural History.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”

George S. Patton
(1885 -1945)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center