Nathan Weidenbaum Playground

The Daily Plant : Friday, June 22, 2001

NEW FACILITIES BRIGHTEN UP NATHAN WEIDENBAUM PARK

Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern, Council Member Walter L. (Woodsider) McCaffrey, Joseph (Orchard) Conley, Chair of Community Board Number Two, and Queens Borough Commissioner Rich (Ricardo) Murphy, gathered on Tuesday, June 19th, 2001 for the long awaited ribbon cutting of Nathan Weidenbaum Park in Woodside, Queens. Four generations of the Weidenbaum family were present to celebrate the man for whom the park is named.

Reconstruction of Nathan Weidenbaum Park, which commenced in October 2000, was funded by Council Member McCaffrey. $1.3 million financed new brightly colored play equipment, safety surfacing, benches, drinking fountains, swings, basketball courts, and greenery. The park, once rarely utilized, is poised to become a neighborhood attraction where children play on orange and purple equipment with multiple slides and climbing structures.

Speakers at the ceremony thanked the many people involved in making the reconstruction possible. After their remarks, a symbolic ribbon was cut and a plaque, inscribed with the park's name, was presented to Laura Weidenbaum to honor her late husband's memory.

The .7-acre plot was designated parkland in 1936. Because of the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the restoration of the park, then called Little Bush Park did not officially begin until 1971. In 1986 a local law renamed the land Nathan Weidenbaum Park in honor of a long time Woodside resident who served as the President of the WynWoode Gardens Homeowners Association and was active in other community groups.

By Brenna (Tuscany) Sevano

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Friday, June 24, 1988)

"HOT PROSPECTS"-FREE PERFORMANCES
IN BROOKLYN'S PROSPECT PARK

What do Shakespeare, Appalachian music and African folk tales have in common? They are all among this summer's "Hot Prospects" of free weekend performances at the Picnic House in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Performing arts reflecting the cultural heritage of over a dozen countries from around the world are featured under one roof every Sunday through the summer. All shows are at 3 p.m. unless otherwise indicated.

Three performances during the July 4th weekend mark the start of the series. On Saturday, July 2 and again on Sunday, July 3 at 4 p.m., the Kings County Shakespeare Company will present the Bard's lighthearted farce, "The Comedy of Errors." An hour before the Sunday performance, the Charles Moore Dance Theatre will invited audience members to learn dances from West Africa, Haiti, Trinidad and Brazil.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"A child loves his play, not because it east, but because it's hard."

Benjamin Spock (B. 1903)