Riverside Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, July 9, 2002

CONGRATULATIONS EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH

The following four individuals are the remaining Parkies to be awarded Employee of the Month for June.

Deonarine (Lennie) Peters is Management's Employee of the Month for June. Lennie joined Parks on October 14, 1988 and currently works as the Supervisor for the Purchasing Unit. From pens and post-its to paint and petrol, Peters procures the products pivotal to Parks programs. He and his team handle approximately 5,000 purchase requests a year totaling over $10 million. If it’s a rush order, Lennie is the person to call. This year Lennie was instrumental in making sure all orders were completed in time for delivery by the end of the Fiscal Year in midst of the Arsenal West move. Balanced and poised, Lennie has been a stalwart at Purchasing. He was nominated by Chief of Management Services Parmod Tripathi .

Divina joined Parks on July 1, 1993 as a seasonal CSA in Staten Island, and became a full-time CSA in Riverside Park in 1993. It was there in 1996, that Divina was spotted on her break by Manhattan recreation staff helping a group of children at the arts and crafts table. Her true vocation revealed, Divina joined Manhattan Recreation and in 1999 assumed her current position as Manhattan Borough After-School Coordinator. As such, Divina runs 11 full-service afterschool programs for over 800 children. She focuses on improved community outreach and enhanced cultural arts programming. Since 2000 Divina has also served as Manhattan Summer Fun Coordinator, Summer Festival Coordinator and Mobile Unit coordinator. Dutiful, dedicated and devoted, Divina was nominated by Chief of Recreation Chris Carapola and Chief of Staff Elizabeth Ripatola.

Cindy joined Parks on July 5, 2000 as a JAC Queens employment counselor. Cindy took on many of the responsibilities of a center coordinator, and was promoted to Assistant Coordinator and finally Coordinator of Queens JAC in June of 2001. Currently Cindy handles a caseload of over 300 workfare participants. Cindy has worked closely with Dress for Success and Career Gear to secure free interview clothing for over 500 participants. She has also developed a lasting partnership with Progressive Home Care that helps non-English speakers obtain home health aide jobs. In addition Cindy volunteers her free time to help support the Teens at Parks Program. For helping make our vital workfare programs a success, Cindy was nominated by JAC Director Nora Ferguson.

Theresa T. Hentz is Staten Island’s Employee of the Month for June. Theresa joined Parks on May 7, 2001 and currently works as Playground Associate at Cromwell- Recreation Center. Theresa instructs center members on fitness and exercise. She develops workout programs and trains members in the proper use of machines and equipment. Her friendly and professional demeanor make even the most intimidating exercise equipment seem accessible, and keeps visitors coming back to the newly reopened center. Theresa also steps up for special events, helping out at both the Rootin’ Tootin’ Valentine’s Square Dance and the Easter Bunny Hop. For keeping Staten Islanders fit and happy, Theresa was nominated by Director of Recreation Mary Cali.

(Tuesday, July 18, 1989)

The Alice Austen House Museum on Staten Island recalls the world of an exceptional woman, photographer Alice Austen. Austen’s quaint, Victorian cottage-style home, with a magnificent view of New York Harbor, displays prints from the large glass negative collection of her work which depict life on rural turn-of-the-century Staten Island.

The original house, one of the city’s oldest, dates to the 1690’s. Once part of a farm near the scenic Narrows, the property was bought in 1844 by John H. Austen, Alice’s grandfather. Austen expanded the small, one-and-a-half story farmhouse, named it "Clear Comfort," and gave it a romantic Gothic Revival face-lift that included steeply peaked dormer windows and flourishes of "gingerbread" wood trim. The parlor is being restored to look as it did in the 1890s with a "Victorian clutter" to ornate period furniture, rugs, Delft fireplace tiles and Oriental vases.

"The gem cannot be polished without friction,
nor man perfected without trials."

Chinese Proverb

Know Before You Go

Riverside Park

West 79th Street Boat Basin

Riverside Park (79th Street)