Prospect Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, January 29, 2001

PARKS ENGINEERS IN SWAMPS AND ON BEACHES: A LECTURE SERIES FOR 2001

Photo by Spencer Tucker

The Municipal Engineer's Society, a member organization of City engineers, has selected Parks as the focus of its lecture series for 2001. Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern opened the series Wednesday, January 24, 2001with an introduction to Parks' unique role in the mechanism of municipal engineering. Parks engineers see both volume and diversity in their work and projects take them into a wide variety of terrain from swamps to sandy beaches. They intervene to stabilize rock walls and build on former landfills. Among other projects, Commissioner Stern described the installation of 12 computer activated irrigation systems in all of the city's golf courses. This is part of a program to conserve the city's drinking water through the use of alternative sources like wells and detention ponds. Parks Engineers have dug wells 300 feet deep that draw 800 gallons of water per minute, and detention pools that hold 1 million gallons of water. Thus far, they've set 60,000 feet of irrigation pipe and wire in Staten Island and 70,000 in Queens. Next stop: Brooklyn and the Bronx. Providing more detailed technical and historical information, Parkies from Engineering to the Historic House Trust will deliver lectures in 2001. The current schedule is as follows:

February 28: Gary (Mt. Auburn) Dearborn, Senior Landscape Architect at the Central Park Conservancy will speak on recent Capital Projects. March 28: John (Wildcat) Natoli, PE, Chief Engineer; Stacy (Tigress) Sonnenberg, Chief of Technical Services; and Vincent (Winged Victory) Colangelo, Director of Architecture will speak about stadia, pools, and other complicated construction projects. April 25: Paul (Polecat) Ersboll, Chief of Design; Arjun (Energy) Sheth, Director of Engineering; and Peter (Paw) Wolpensinger, Structural Engineering Supervisor will speak about waterfront park facilities. May 23: Jonathan (Archive) Kuhn, Director of Art & Antiquities will speak about monuments. June 27: Christian (Dylan) Zimmerman, Director of Design & Construction at Prospect Park will speak about recent Capital Projects there. October 31: Amy (Friday) Freitag, Director of Historic House Trust will speak about historic houses. The next few lectures will be held at the Surrogates Court, 31 Chambers Street, 5th Floor. For more information, please contact Nicole (Lune) Clare at (718) 760-6942.

PARKS MOURNS THE PASSING OF CASSAUNDRA (JAZZ) LEE

It is with deepest regret that the Revenue Division announces the passing of one of our own. Cassaundra (Jazz) Lee. She recently transferred to the Administration for Children's Services. She died at the age of 34. She will be missed. Her funeral will be held Saturday, January 27 at 9:30 a.m. at the First Church of God and Christ at 170-15 107 Street, Jamaica, New York. Fore information please call Debbie or Faustina at (212) 360-3405.

BROWNSVILLE RECREATION CENTER REMEMBERS A COMMUNITY LEGEND

Tom Sealy, a member of the Harlem Globetrotters and a familiar and sought-after figure at the local gym, passed in November, 2000. In keeping with the spirit in which his life was lived, Brownsville Recreation center will host a memorial basketball game day on January 27th, 2001. The Tom Sealy Games will begin at 11:00 a.m., and will include Iddy Biddie, Biddies, Junior girls and a high school game. The featured game of the day will be the WBLS Radio station Sureshots vs. the Brownsville Goodfellas at 6:30pm. No admission will be charged, but the center asks that spectators bring a donation of canned food to support their Feed the Hungry Food Drive. For further information about this event, please call the center at (718) 485-4633.

By DH Zingale, Brooklyn Recreation

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Friday, January 29, 1988)

PARKS HELPS STAMP OUT STYROFOAM

In accordance with Mayor Koch's December 29 call for a ban on the use of polystrene (Styrofoam) by Mayoral agencies, Commissioner Stern recently announced a voluntary ban of the product at many park facilities.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled to, and less than that no man shall have.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)