Central Park

The Daily Plant : Friday, January 12, 2001

PROJECT OF THE WEEK: AN HISTORIC FLAGPOLE

Congratulations to Director of Engineering Arjun (Energy) Sheth, P.E., Supervisor for Structural Engineering Peter (Paw) Wolpensinger, P.E., and Project Manager Jake Yow whose plan for a flagpole and plaque in Beattie Triangle was named Project of the Week January 8, 2001. Theirs is the first engineering project to be chosen. With the design completed, the project, funded by City Council Member Victor L. (Whip) Robles, is scheduled to begin this Spring.

By changing the foundation and adding reinforcements, the engineers will ensure that the new flagpole is stronger and longer lasting and therefore able to contribute to the preservation of the park's history. The design calls for a new 45-foot steel pole with yardarm and accessories. A concrete pole footing and granite base will also be installed. The existing fence, posts, and gate will be replaced and a new granite curb created. A bronze memorial plaque will honor Joseph Beattie for whom the park is named.

Beattie Triangle, bounded by Broadway, Vernon Avenue, and Stuyvesant Avenue is one of the oldest public parks in Brooklyn. Anton and Mary Vigelius deeded it to the City of Brooklyn in 1884 for one dollar on the condition that "the same shall be enclosed with an iron fence and forever kept as a public park or place." The Beattie for whom the triangle is named, died on a battlefield in France during WWI. On May 31, 1924, a 12,000-pound German Krupp gun captured by the British in WWI was mounted on the concrete base in the center of the triangle. At one point, many parks featured similar weaponry in their war memorials, but today, only eight similar guns remain. The rest, like the one in Beattie Triangle, were melted for scrap metal in WWII to make new arms. The American flag in the center of the site flies in tribute to the brave private.

PLEASE DONATE BLOOD THIS YEAR

Blood is urgently needed and so is our help. Parkies are asked to participate in the first Blood Drive of the New Year on Wednesday, January 24 and Thursday, January 25 from 8:30 A.M. to 2: 00 P.M. in the Arsenal Gallery. To give blood or volunteer at the sign-in table, please contact Jennifer Akapabla at the Central Park Conservancy (212) 310-6635, Tarice Harris at Arsenal West (212) 830-7814, Sydney (James Joyce) Goldstein at Arsenal North (212) 360-2774, Maureen (Chimp) Benson in Manhattan (212) 408-0222, or Hedi (Headlight) Piel in the Arsenal (212) 360-3442.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Friday, January 15, 1988)

THE YEAR IN REVIEW: MANAGEMENT

Nineteen eighty-seven was a banner year for Management and Budget under Deputy Commissioner Robert L. Garafola. All units within the division achieved major accomplishments that improved programs and services delivered to the public.

Management, recently reorganized, welcomes Assistant Commissioner John F. Ciaffone and the Parks Advocate Dennis M. Guarrera as well as the new Labor Relations Director, Carmen Matias.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Give me the political economist, the sanitary reformer, the engineer...the spinning-jenny and the railroad, Cunard's liners and the electric telegraph are to me ... signs that we are, on some points at least, in harmony with the universe."

Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center