Thomas Jefferson Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, July 11, 2002

LET THE SUMMER FUN BEGIN

Note: This program no longer exists. For information on similar summer fun, please visit our Playground Associate Program page.

Over the next seven weeks, thousands of children will be visiting their local parks daily to enjoy sports, arts, and educational activities under the leadership of exceptional Parks staff. Seventeen of the city’s most popular parks will host Summer Fun in the Playground, a free, drop-in recreation program for children ages 6 to 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. If you know children who love to play and learn with other kids, please let them know about Summer Fun or call Central Recreation at (212) 360-3300 for more information. There is no need to register. Children can stop by any time.

This year’s Summer Fun sites are:

Bronx
Haffen Park -- Burke Avenue & Gunther Avenue
St. James Park -- 192nd Street & Jerome Avenue
St. Mary’s Park -- 145th Street & St. Ann’s Avenue
Zimmerman Playground -- Britton Street & Olinville Avenue

Brooklyn
Fermi Park -- Troutman Street & Central Avenue
Wingate Park -- Brooklyn Avenue & Rutland Road

Manhattan
Alfred E. Smith -- Catherine Street off Cherry Street
J. Hood Wright Park -- 174th Street & Fort Washington Avenue
Jackie Robinson Park -- West 146th Street & Bradhurst Avenue
Marcus Garvey Park -- 122nd Street & Mount Morris Park West
Morningside Park -- West 123rd Street & Morningside Avenue
Thomas Jefferson Park -- 112th Street & 1st Avenue

Queens
Breininger Park -- Braddock Avenue and 240th Street in Queens Village
Rosemary’s Playground -- Fairview Street & Madison Avenue in Ridgewood
Thomson Hill Playground -- Greenpoint Avenue & 43rd Street in Sunnyside

Staten Island
McDonald Playground -- Broadway Avenue & Forest Avenue
Public School 38 -- Lincoln Avenue & Midland Avenue

Between now and August 23, when the program ends, Summer Fun sites will be stocked with information about Parks’ public programs. If you’d like your program’s materials displayed, please contact Julia Schaffer at (212) 360-3307.

Visit the 2002 Summer Fun in the Playground page.

Written by Julia Schaffer

The tryouts are underway for the 36th Annual United States Youth Games to be held this year in Newark, New Jersey from July 31 to August 4. Parks is sponsoring selected boys and girls under 16 years of age to participate in basketball, soccer, track & field, bowling, golf, tennis, swimming, volleyball, flag football, chess and double dutch to compete on Team NYC with the top athletes and minds from across the nation.

Last year’s games, held in Birmingham, Alabama, were a great success. Boys and Girls Soccer, Boys and Girls Track & Field, Boys and Girls Tennis, Boys and Girls Golf, Swimming, and Bowling all earned medals. New York led the games in medals earned.

This year’s Team NYC will be a diverse group and will unite under the New York flag to represent the Big Apple. An experienced coaching staff will train this group in hopes of another successful Team NYC. This year’s coaching roster boasts several impressive resumes, including an AAU National Champion Coach and a City Championship Soccer Coach.

The U.S. Youth Games were started in 1966 to offer urban youth an opportunity for recreational and cultural growth through inner-city competition in sports. The games were conceived as a vehicle to stimulate summer programs, to aid the youth of our urban cities, and to foster better relations among the youth of today. Not only do the games encourage interaction between young people from all five boroughs, it enables them to meet others their age from across the country. Because the tournament is free, children who might not otherwise have an opportunity are able to participate.

Visit the 2002 U.S. Youth Games page.

Written by Logan Winston

(Thursday, July 20, 1989)

This June, Parks playgrounds passed a Federal inspection. Officials from the United States Department of the Interior visited 33 City playgrounds that were renovated though the Federal Urban Park and Recreation Recovery (UPARR) Program, which granted funds to Parks as part of its natural agenda for urban park renewal.

Parks received over $5 million, 85% Federal and 15% state, in grants from UPARR from 1980 to 1983 to renovate 33 playgrounds in all five boroughs. Of that, $1.5 million was allocated for the renovation and expansion of the Cromwell Recreation Center on Staten Island and the Forest Houses Playground and Comfort Station in the Bronx.

"I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world.
This makes it hard to plan the day."

E B White
(July 11, 1899-1985)

Know Before You Go

Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center