Flushing Meadows Corona Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, May 22, 2001

QUEENS RECREATION’S THIRD ANNUAL TALENTS SHOW

Photo by Kelly (She-Ra) Gillen

Queens Recreation held its third annual Talent Show on Friday, May 18 at the Forest Park Bandshell. The more than 30 acts included singers, dancers, a double dutch team, steppers, pianists, and a rock band! The children that participated traveled from all over Queens, and were selected from over one hundred acts that auditioned.

Over 300 spectators withstood chilly weather to watch the wonderful performances, hosted by Jessica Cherry and Ken Watterson. Marc (DJ Mumbles) Rogers provided some great tunes in between acts.

The winners of the Queens Talent Show were: Big Ty, age 6, from Sorrentino Recreation Center; Josefina Sola, age 12, from Lost Battalion Hall; Tara Vaiano, age 17, from Detective Keith L. Williams Recreation Center; the Playground for all Children Break Dancers; and the Louise Benes Senior Dance Company.

You won't want to miss the Citywide Talent Show on June 8 at Lost Battalion Hall in Queens where the winners will compete against the best of the boroughs. The event will be held at 7 p.m.

Eileen (Xena) Gillen and Khadijah (Sweet Talk) McCullars coordinated the Queens Talent Show. Special thanks to Laura (Devil Dog) Gili and David (Frequency) Bentham.

By Eileen (Xena) Gillen

PARKS, CPF, AND THE NEW YORK JUNIOR LEAGUE COLLABORATE ON THEIR FOURTH PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

Parks just completed its fourth and most ambitious collaboration with the New York Junior League, a women's organization devoted to public service. Last year, they renovated P.S.125, and before that P.S. 194-now Renaissance Playground-, and Howard Bennet Playground.

With matching grants from the City Parks Foundation and the New York Junior League, Junior League volunteers brought material improvements to the areas that needed them and breathed new life into the playground as a whole. Visitors to Thomas Jefferson will now enjoy new exercise equipment and color seal basketball courts. Mirrors have been installed in the fitness rooms and cubbyholes created in the afterschool rooms. Murals with an underwater theme were painted on the walls inside and out. The planting beds at the entrance to the recreation center were cleared and replanted.

The act of creating this playground was a volunteer effort aimed to promote leadership, and the spirit of community, the very qualities we wish for the children who play there. The transformation of Thomas Jefferson Playground was brought about well-organized, well-trained citizens taking responsibility for the city's public spaces. With their participation-15,000 volunteer hours of planning, labor, and administrative support-the playground underwent a significant change. The 60 members of the Playground Improvement Committee and many others volunteered their time and their muscles over five weekends this spring. Thomas Jefferson Park is nearly as old as the Junior League itself. Its renewed health is emblematic of the health of Parks, the Junior League, and the partnership between the two.

NEW LIGHTS FOR THE MICHAEL BUSCEK BALLFIELDS

The Michael Buscek Little League in Manhattan creates recreational opportunities for neighborhood kids. Through their games, friendships are forged between community residents and local police officers. This season, for the first time, the Michael Buscek Ballfields will enjoy a distinguishing feature: lights for their night games, a generous gift from the Adco Lighting Corporation. Con Edison and the Department of Design and Construction helped bring lights to the field for the first game of the season, a tribute to Michael Buscek, the police officer for whom the ballfields stand as a memorial. The Michael Buscek Little League is a frequent user of the field. You can find them playing by sunlight and lamplight nearly every day this season. Mayor Rudy (Eagle) Giuliani, Police Commissioner Bernard (Keeper) Kerik, and Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern were on hand Friday to turn on the lights.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Tuesday, May 24, 1988)

ROCKAWAY BEACH PASSES PRE-SEASON INSPECTION

On what was the hottest day of the year so far, city officials previewed the summer swimming season by making an inspection tour of Rockaway Beach yesterday at the boardwalk and 109th Street in Queens.

City Councilman Walter Ward, making his 19th consecutive appearance at the annual inspection, joined Assembly Member Audrey I. Pheffer, Commissioner Stern, and Queens Parks Commissioner William Cook to review a fleet of Parks beach cleaning equipment that included eight power wagons, one barber rake and tractor, a pick-up truck, a pay loader and a garbage truck.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues,
but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

C.S. Lewis (1898-1963)

Know Before You Go

World's Fair Marina