Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Wednesday, March 13, 2002

THE "SPHERE" IN BATTERY PARK

This week the "Sphere" was installed at the Eisenhower Mall at the north end of Battery Park adjacent to the Hope Garden. In 1971 Fritz Koenig sculpted the "Sphere"—which stood as the centerpiece of the World Trade Center plaza—as a monument to foster peace through world trade. The sculpture was damaged in the September 11 attacks but was salvaged. It now stands in Battery Park as a temporary memorial until a permanent memorial is constructed at the World Trade Center site. Parkies and Department of Design and Construction staff worked through the weekend to install the "Sphere" and create a surrounding landscape where visitors to Lower Manhattan can appreciate the 45,000 pound, 15-foot diameter, steel and bronze sculpture.

On Monday, March 11, the six-month anniversary of the attack, Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor Giuliani, and Governor Pataki were at the site to dedicate the temporary memorial. Family members of victims, elected officials and other dignitaries were in the audience. Mayor Bloomberg noted that the sculpture "endured the attacks and now is a stirring tribute to the courage of those we lost and a reminder of the resiliency of the American spirit."

February’s Black History Month is a month-long celebration for the Black community. At Hansborough Recreation Center, the children in the After-School Program have an Annual Black History Month performance to salute the many fabulous, talented and brave souls who have paved the way for so many people. This year’s play was dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 disaster and to our own Dr. Charlene Draper, who was our friend and co-worker.

The children’s play was fantastic. The kids on stage transformed into great leaders such as Rosa Parks, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, Aretha Franklin, Malcolm X, and Zora Neale Hurston. Accomplished athletes and poets, such as Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Maya Angelou were also represented at the performance. The purpose of the annual project is for the children to learn who these people were and to believe that they themselves can achieve any goals or dreams they may have. These kids had a sense of what Black History Month stands for: respect, pride and the honoring of our ancestors. Part of the performance included a "child of the 21^st Century." The following is an excerpt of a poem spoken by that child, Taylor Von Frazer, age 7:

I am the African-American Child
I am the voice of yesterday
I am the voice of the present
I am the voice of the future…
I am the child you fought to save
I am the African American child and I thank you.

A choir of fifty children sang spiritual songs and there was college stepping taking place. The children were fabulous and have done a tremendous job of portraying our great leaders and in keeping the spirit of Black History Month alive.