St. John's Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, April 30, 2009

Parks Cuts The Ribbon And Unveils Mural At St. John's Playground

Photo by Malcolm Pinckney

On April 28, Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined City Council Member Albert Vann, Executive and Artistic Director of CITYarts Inc. Tsipi Ben-Haim, Brazilian artist Duda Penteado, Community Board 8 Chair Robert Matthews, and children from P.S. 92 and P.S. 243 to cut the ribbon on over $4.3 million in renovations and to unveil the beautiful mural, Nature is Love on Earth, at St. John’s Playground in Brooklyn.

“St. John’s Playground has been transformed into a state-of-the-art recreational destination in central Brooklyn with over $4.3 million in improvements,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Thanks to the vision of Council Member Vann, the community benefits from a new playground with a basketball and handball complex. Under Mayor Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, we will soon convert its asphalt yard into a vibrant turf field. And all visitors to the park can enjoy the beautiful mural, Nature is Love on Earth, created through a collaboration between Parks and CITYarts, that celebrates nature while raising awareness of global warming.”

Thanks to allocations of $2,340,000 from Council Member Vann and $342,000 from Mayor Bloomberg, Parks transformed the St. John’s basketball courts into a state-of-the-art outdoor athletic venue, featuring six new basketball courts and 12 handball courts with recreational lighting.

Thanks to an additional $1,291,000 from Council Member Vann, $100,000 from Mayor Bloomberg, and $250,000 from a State EPF Grant, Parks reconstructed the playground with new play equipment, a spray shower, swings, a grassy hill, benches, fencing and landscaping. Additionally, as part of PlaNYC’s ‘asphalt to turf’ initiative, Parks will soon convert the park’s asphalt yard into a multi-purpose synthetic turf field for soccer, football and baseball, with $3.3 million in Mayoral funds.

After cutting the ribbon, Parks unveiled the beautiful community mural, Nature is Love on Earth, created through a partnership between CITYarts and Parks. The mural was coordinated by artist Duda Penteado and designed and painted by young people from the St. John’s Recreation Center and the surrounding community. It is the 272nd public art project coordinated by CITYarts.

NYC CIVIC CORPS

On Monday, April 20th, Mayor Bloomberg launched NYC Service – a bold, wide-ranging initiative aimed at ushering in a new era of service and volunteerism in New York City. As part of our efforts to lead the nation in making volunteer service a priority, we’ve introduced the NYC Civic Corps to engage a broad cross-section of citizens to help our neighbors and strengthen local communities.

NYC Civic Corps is looking for a select group of recent college graduates and experienced professionals to dedicate themselves for one year to serving New Yorkers where the City’s needs are greatest: strengthening communities, helping neighbors in need, education, environment, health, and emergency preparedness.

NYC Civic Corps members will be trained and dispatched in small teams to public and nonprofit organizations throughout the five boroughs to help build sustainable impact volunteer programs – something that no city has ever done before!

At a time when our City needs the involvement of its citizens the most, we’re thankful that you’re helping us spread the word about this innovative program.

More information and online applications are available at www.nyc.gov/service, and the APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MAY 15, 2009. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. For questions please call 311 or (212-NEW-YORK) or email corps@cityhall.nyc.gov.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D., or Ph.D. Unfortunately, they don't have a J.O.B.”

Fats Domino
(1928 - )