Forest Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, December 7, 2006

Demonstrating The True Volunteer Spirit

Photo by Jonathan Matt

Parks are where communities come together and it is especially gratifying when neighbors join forces with the common goal of improving their local park.  This volunteer spirit was demonstrated in raring form on November 18, when 178 volunteers participated in Forest Park’s Fall Volunteer Cleanup.

Participating groups included the Forest Park Running Club, the Glendale Kiwanis Club, WORKS Little League and the Bayside, Grover Cleveland, Cardozo, Francis Lewis, and Forest Hills High Schools’ Key Clubs.  The event was held at the George Seuffert Bandshell with the organizing assistance of Al Polte, Ed Gerrity, Jonathan Matt and Josephine Scalia.

Volunteers raked leaves in the area and used plastic trashcans and tarps to dump leaves directly into a Parks Packer.  City Parks Worker Herbert Weinkauff was on hand to ensure that everything went smoothly with the leaf removal.  Amazingly, the volunteers filled the Packer to capacity; that’s 16 cubic yards of compacted leaves!

Volunteers also scraped and painted over 50 benches at the George Seuffert Bandshell.  Used throughout the year for theater performances, concerts and movies, the Bandshell benches hold 3,600 people. Thankfully, the volunteers were eager to paint and were a tremendous help in maintaining the benches.

The last project for the day was to clean and plant around the Seuffert Bandshell and the 9/11 Memorial Garden. Volunteers weeded and raked out the beds and planted 350 daffodils and 14 shrubs.  Their work is an important part in keeping the gardens in the Park healthy and looking great.  Come out to the Bandshell in the spring to see the daffodils bloom!

Thanks to everyone who participated on the 18th including the volunteers, coordinators and Park workers.  The time and effort that made the Volunteer Cleanup such a success is greatly appreciated.

Submitted by Jonathan Matt & Josephine Scalia

If you have a Parks event that you would like to see covered in The Daily Plant, please do not hesitate to contact us at (212) 360-1311.

CORRECTION

The November 20th edition of The Daily Plant, featuring an article on the Flight 587 Memorial in the Rockaways, neglected to include the participation of Situ Studio LLC, the preliminary and schematic design consultant to the artist. 

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1882 – 1945)

65 years ago today…

Know Before You Go

Forest Park Visitor Center