College Point Fields

The Daily Plant : Friday, October 5, 2001

CITY PARKS FOUNDATION HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Parks welcomes David (Sturgeon) Rivel into his new position as Executive Director of the City Parks Foundation. Rivel comes to CPF from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music where he served as President for six years. The Conservatory, founded in 1897 is one of our country’s oldest and largest community schools of the art with branches in central Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens. Under Rivel’s leadership, the school was saved from impending bankruptcy and reached record levels of enrollment. Rivel managed a $2.5 million capital campaign to renovate the brownstone school in Brooklyn and constructed a new $500,000 facility in Flushing. In five years, he built the Conservatory’s endowment from zero to $1.5 million. Before that, Rivel worked for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Rivel’s first day of work at CPF, Monday, October 1, ended with a cocktail reception at Manhattan’s Regency Hotel where he was officially greeted by Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern and Andrew (Mike Connan) Tisch, a member of the board of the City Parks Foundation.

PARKS REMEMBERS THREE DEVOTED VOLUNTEERS FROM THE STATEN ISLAND FIRE DEPARTMENT

Charlie Kasper, Chuck Margiotta, and John Fischer who volunteered as coaches with Parks’ afterschool leagues, died in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Staten Island Recreation knew them as friendly, caring men who built close friendships with neighborhood kids. Charles Kasper, a Battalion Chief in Rescue 1 and recently promoted to Deputy Chief, volunteered as a basketball coach with Parks Afterschool and Nike basketball leagues for five years. Chuck Margiotta also volunteered for five years as a basketball and flag football coach. He was a Lieutenant in Rescue 5. Staten Island Recreation also remembers a volunteer of three years, Firefighter John Fischer. We honor their contributions to Parks and to all of New York City, and send our condolences to their families. Memorial services for Kasper and Fischer took place last week. Our thoughts are also with the dozens of Parks volunteers from the Police and Fire Departments who are working twelve-hour shifts at ground zero.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT

(Friday, October 7, 1988)

MAYOR KOCH OPENS COLLEGE POINT PARK WITH FESTIVE QUEENS CEREMONY

Youngsters from St. Paul’s Episcopal School in College Point , Queens were all smiles yesterday. Dapper in navy blue uniforms and standing side by side, the students had a good reason to be in good spirits. Their brand new park at 14^th Avenue in Queens was being dedicated by Mayor Koch. "This is a very special community," said the Mayor. "The playground and parking lot we are opening today are what you have wanted for a long time. It was made possible by a vibrant community."

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Nothing endures but change."

Heraclitus c. 540 – c. 480 B.C.