Youth Village

The Daily Plant : Monday, November 13, 2000

YOUTH VILLAGE PLAYGROUND RENOVATED

Photo by Malcolm (Cinema) Pinckney

YOUTH VILLAGE PLAYGROUND RENOVATED

The Youth Village Playground, bounded by Boston Road, Home Street and Jackson Avenue in the Bronx, has a history of transformation. It began as a vacant lot-a dumping ground for trash and debris. Community members, led by Lucille Dreher, banded together and changed the lot from pavement and trash to a green town square, a place for friends to meet and children to play. The Youth Village Center, the South Bronx churches, and Morrisania Concerned Citizens were instrumental in catalyzing that change in 1979.

The theme of community-driven change-from empty lot to thriving garden-informed the renovations that were celebrated Thursday. Commissioner Henry J. (StarQuest) Stern; Bronx Borough Commissioner, William (Zorro) Castro; Councilman Wendel (Reverend) Foster; District Leader Claudia Nesbeth; and Chair of Community Board 3, John Dudley, were present to celebrate additions and improvements to the playground. Parks made the grounds safer by adding fencing and gates to the perimeter. Safety surfacing was added so that children can move about freely. The playground is now a livelier, more colorful place, with new trees, shrubs and plantings that will bloom in Spring, and shots of color in the new play equipment. Renovations also include a new drainage system, new asphalt pavement, repairs to the curb, new stairs, and benches.

The renovations were approved in April and their completion was celebrated this past Thursday. Requirements Contracts, which allocate city money for targeted improvements to parks in need, enabled Parks to implement the changes efficiently. The Youth Village Playground was one of many Parks facilities that was able to benefit from the speedy intervention.

THE MARATHON COUNT CONTINUES

Additional heroic marathoners include Parkies Michael (Albino Raccoon) Szuflita and Michael Mui. Also, The Plant apologizes for misspelling Brian (Oakman) Aucoin's name. Congratulations to all these runners.

.THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, November 16, 1987)

LAND HO! NAUTICAL PLAYGROUND DEDICATED NEAR JAMAICA BAY

The Broad Channel community may be small in size-about 4,000 people living on the only inhabited island in Jamaica Bay-but it is great in spirit. This was proved last December during torrential rains when, despite the weather, the neighborhood residents joined officials to break ground for a brand new playground. And it was proven again last Thursday, a clear but gusty day, when over 100 people from the community and local schoolchildren braved the cold to celebrate the playground's dedication.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Too often summer days appea
r Emblems of perfect happiness
I can't confront: I must await
A time less bold, less rich, less clear:
An autumn more appropriate."

Phillip Larkin (1922-1985)