Owen F. Dolen Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, September 19, 2011

Owen Dolen Park Begins Significant Restoration

Photo by Malcolm Pinckney

On September 14, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., City Council Member James Vacca, Assembly Member Michael Benedetto, Community Board 10 Chair John Marano and District Manager Kenneth Kearns, members of the Westchester Square Merchants’ Association, and members of the community to break ground on $5 million in improvements to Owen Dolen Park.

“Owen Dolen Park and Recreation Center have long been important community amenities in the Bronx, offering innovative programming and passive recreation space,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Thanks to generous allocations by Council Member Vacca and Borough President Diaz, we are reshaping the park to better accommodate local events and performances. When complete, Owen Dolen will contain a large plaza, several performance areas, and additional green space, all of which will ensure that the park remains a community oasis for years to come.”

“Owen Dolen Park is the jewel of Westchester Square, and I was happy to provide $500,000 in critical funding towards the redevelopment of its recreation center,” said Borough President Diaz. “In the coming years I will work closely with the Parks Department, Commissioner Benepe and Council Member Vacca to ensure that this park remains the vibrant community space that it has been for decades, and I am proud to have been a part of this important project.”

"I am proud to have allocated millions of dollars to the reconstruction of Owen Dolen Park and am very excited to see this project get off the ground,” said Council Member Vacca. “The new park will be a valuable resource for entire Westchester Square community and has been a long time coming. I look forward to the new Owen Dolen becoming the center of the revitalized Westchester Square we have all been working toward, full of recreation and entertainment programs that will enhance the work of the coming business improvement district."

Thanks to $4,500,000 allocated by Council Member Vacca and $500,000 from Borough President Diaz, this park will soon contain several spaces to accommodate outdoor events and community programming – including a large plaza along Westchester Avenue – all with electrical service. The park’s grassy areas will be expanded and consolidated, and its pedestrian paths will be streamlined and repaved. The project also includes new seating, trees, ornamental plantings, additional lighting, improved drainage, and fencing.

This project is designed by Parks’ designer Gustavo Frindt. The contractor for the project will be Kelco Landscaping and Construction.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly
is to steal with good judgment.”

Josh Billings
(1818 - 1885)