Paerdegat Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, November 21, 2000

CHARGE! THE "HORSE GATE" AT PAERDEGAT PARK OPENS TO EAGER SCHOOLCHILDREN

Photo by Amanda (Greenpoint) Tedeschi

CHARGE! THE "HORSE GATE" AT PAERDEGAT PARK OPENS TO EAGER SCHOOLCHILDREN

Fourth and Fifth graders from P.S. 198 took time out from their studies Friday to celebrate their school's big green backyard, Paerdegat Park. They brought with them poetry and murals created specifically for the occasion-the ribbon cutting on a $1.4 million capital reconstruction funded by Council Member Lloyd (El Mosco) Henry.

From their classrooms across the street, students witnessed the renewal that has taken place in Paerdegat Park on Albany Avenue and Farragut Road in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. On Friday, Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern and Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Julius (Mirror) Spiegel invited them to be a part of that renewal. With new handball and basketball courts, a baseball diamond, and a brand new cricket field, Paerdegat Park-which means Horse Gate Park in Dutch-will have kids jumping on the basketball courts and galloping around the bases afterschool. The young people were also encouraged to discover the new artwork, the sundial, spray showers, and a game table.

The 3.558-acre park takes its name from Paerdegat Basin, a one and one-quarter mile-long channel that empties into Jamaica Bay in nearby Bergen Beach. Paerdegat Basin is a saltwater wetland area. Groves of trees such as the ailanthus, honey locust and smooth sumac in the basin's upland region provide a welcome habitat for many species of birds and animals whose numbers have dwindled in recent years. It is expected that the children of P.S. 198 will bring their own wild spirit to Paerdegat Park.

OPERATION SPEEDSTERS

It was a fleet showing at the 5-mile Turkey Classic this Sunday, for Laura (Lollipop) Gaul and Anissa (The Kid) Nachman of Operations. With Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern in attendance, Lollipop and The Kid performed impressively, finishing 14th and 22nd among the 1,329 women participating. Lollipop also won a trophy for finishing third place in the 20-29 age group.

True to form, the New York Road Runners Club holds a run for all seasons. The 12th annual Turkey Classic was a chance to anticipate turkey torpor and get in shape before a notoriously unhealthy time of year. The season of the city's most intense athletic activity has wound down, but die-hards enjoyed the foliage and the crispness of autumn air on Sunday as well as a vigorous run. Congratulations to Lollipop and The Kid, a swift pair.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Tuesday, November 24, 1987)

BROOKLYN'S RED HOOK RECREATION CENTER REPAIRED AND RESTORED UNDER

"5 X 5" PROGRAM After a blitz, generals usually survey the results of their troops' work. And that's exactly what Parks officials and community leaders did last Friday after scores of Parkies descended upon the Red Hook Park Recreation Center in Brooklyn during the last two weeks to give it a complete overhaul and clean-up. Commissioner Stern, Deputy Commissioner for Operations Robert Russo and Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Julius Spiegel conducted a tour of Parks' latest "5 x 5" clean-up.

The tour, which marked the completion of Red Hook's whirlwind repair and clean-up, started at the newly refurbished tennis courts on Bay and Columbia Streets.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Modern man must descend the spiral of his own absurdity to the lowest point; only then can he look beyond it. It is obviously impossible to get around it, jump over it, or simply avoid it."

Vaclav Havel (B. 1936)