Lemon Creek Park

The Daily Plant : Friday, May 10, 2002

CONGRATULATIONS EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

The following individuals are among the seven awarded Employee of the Month for April on Wednesday, May 1. The Daily Plant congratulates these employees on this accomplishment.

Peter Crumlish is the Commissioner’s Employee of the Month for April. Peter joined Parks on January 1, 2000 and currently serves as Director of Partnerships for Parks. Through Peter’s efforts, Partnerships has increased its database of parks friends to over 60,000 people, and Partnerships staff attended over 650 local community meetings last year. Partnerships also played a lead role in the recent Daffodil Project and will host a citywide It’s My Park Day on May 18. Diplomatic, smart and dedicated, Peter has effectively assumed the reigns of this vital initiative and is helping to mobilize an army of Parks friends and defenders.

Clinton Alston is Brooklyn’s Employee of the Month for April. Clinton joined Parks on July 8, 1994 and currently works as the Weight Room Supervisor and Director of Fitness Instruction for Adults and Seniors at St. John’s Recreation Center. He oversees the operation and condition of 32 pieces of equipment and helps patrons design and implement exercise programs appropriate to their age, health and abilities. His informed and friendly approach encourages visitors, especially seniors, to make regular use of St. John’s exercise facilities. On his own time, Clinton has taken personal training and CPR courses, and stays apprized of health and fitness innovations. He coaches youth volleyball and basketball. More than pulling his weight in Brooklyn, Clinton was nominated by Chief of Recreation Michael Dockett.

Peter J. Beeton is Capital Projects’ Employee of the Month for April. Peter joined Parks on February 28, 2000 and currently works as an Assistant Landscape Architect in Requirement Contracts. Peter creates original and functional designs for new and refurbished parks, playgrounds, plazas and playing fields. He has designed more than 50 projects including Seward Park Plaza in Manhattan and a new road and parking lot in Lemon Creek Park in Staten Island. For Lemon Creek Park, Peter re-worked the original DOT design and helped save 15,000 square feet of green space and a dozen trees from being paved over. Thoughtful and talented, Peter was nominated by Chief of Requirement Contracts Karen Mauney-Brodeck.

Nora Ferguson is Management’s Employee of the Month for April. Nora joined Parks on June 2, 1999 as the Job Developer for Brooklyn JAC. She worked as Manhattan JAC Job Developer and Assistant Director of JAC before becoming Director of JAC last June. In the past year, Nora has placed over 130 participants in permanent jobs, and has cultivated innovative and valuable partnerships with Dress for Success, Career Gear, Styleworks and Streetwise Inc. Last month she organized her fifth Job Fair, with over 450 WEP and POP participants and 30 companies attending. For her hard work in this critical program, Nora was nominated by Deputy Commissioner for Management and Budget Robert Garafola and Director of the Work Experience Program (WEP) Samara Epstein.

Fred Little, RLA, started working for Parks in 1978 as an Assistant Landscape Architect. He currently works at the Olmsted Center in Interagency Coordination for Capital Projects and is responsible for reviewing and coordinating the work of outside agencies that affect parklands, including the New York State Department of Transportation. The review procedure involves many issues, including drainage, removal of unsuitable material, contractor staging and storage, tree protection, and tree mitigation.

While working in the Manhattan Borough Office, Fred designed a Hope Garden in Battery Park as an AIDS memorial garden and eleven rose gardens in the Broadway Malls, Foley Square and other locations. In 1989, working with the Parisian equivalent of Parks, Fred co-designed the American Garden in Paris, which is located across the street from the American Consulate.

Outside of Parks, Fred does fundraising for the AIDS Monument Committee in New York City. On the weekends, Fred can be found astride his black ‘road king’ motorcycle or working in the garden at his weekend house in Malden-on-Hudson, which he shares with his partner of 12 years.

"Dancing is a sweat job."

(May 10, 1899-1987)