RTLAND CO T PA AN ewsletter RK V Fall N 2008

Ground Breaking News

his fall we will break ground on six significant renovation 3. Park Headquarters and projects in Van Cortlandt Park, representing the largest investment Comfort Station located at T Broadway and West 242nd Street in the park since the 1930s. Projects will include re-grading ballfields, was designed in the 1930s by Max filling erosion sites, landscaping hillsides and renovating lawns. Detailed Hausle who also co-designed the preservation work, such as re-pointing and replacing bricks, will also architecturally influential Bronx County Court House. The com- be completed. During this construction period, we are making every fort station’s rehabilitation will effort to minimize disruption to public usage of the park. include new ramping at its front entrance for ADA accessibility and These projects were made re-pointing of the building’s fascia possible by the Croton Water to make it water tight. The cost of Filtration Plant Mitigation funds this project is $1.4 million. and are as follows: 4. Shandler Recreation Area’s 1. Old Croton Aqueduct Trail barbecue site will receive new follows the tunnel designed by tables, paths and grills in the area Chief Engineer John B. Jervis in surrounding the comfort station, the 1830s to bring drinking water while the two ballfields near the from upstate reservoirs to New expressway will be re-graded to York City. Improved trail drainage improve drainage. The cost of this and new plantings will strengthen project is $1.2 million. erosion control measures; an 5. Van Cortlandt Stadium exposed section of the historic Infield will receive the first syn- brick tunnel will be preserved and thetic turf in the park. It will be covered and some stairs will be re- the one soccer/football field where set. The total cost of this project is teams can play all year long. $3 million. 6. Parade Ground restoration 2. Bronx Greenhouse and starts with an archeological dig and Nursery renovations and re-grading. An extensive drain- expansion will include upgrades age and irrigation system will be to the ‘cold frames,’ greenhouses, installed throughout most of the loading docks, irrigation lines, Numbers on this thumbnail map fields and parts of the running sewer lines and access ways at correspond with project descriptions. continued on p. 7 a cost of $2.7 million. Fall Calendar 2008

Wildflower Walk invited to the park to be blessed September Saturday, September 13, 1 pm for the year to come. Discover late-in-the-season Canine Court. Enter park at Birding Club blooms like starburst asters Broadway & 252 St. Saturday, September 6, 9 am and bright goldenrod on this Autumn Colors Hike Once a month, every month, final summer walk. Saturday, October 11, 11 am bird with the Rangers! Meet the Rangers at Meet at the Nature Center and the Nature Center. Walk through the woods and bring your own binoculars. admire the trees before they lose Beginner Canoeing their leaves. Papermaking Saturday, September 20, 11 am Meet the Rangers at Saturday, September 6, 2 pm Learn the basics or practice what the Nature Center. you know! Join New York’s Greenest Cass Gallagher Trail Hike (y’know, the Rangers!) for First-come—first-served. Bring Saturday, October 18, 11 am this recycling activity. water, sunscreen and a snack. Meet at the Nature Center. Ages 8 and up. Delight in the crisp, cool air of the Northwest Forest while hiking this Meet the Rangers at lovely trail with the Rangers. Chimney Swift Sighting the Nature Center. Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 pm Meet at Broadway & Mosholu Ave. 280 chimney swifts were counted last year at St. Ann’s Catholic October School as they circled and fun- neled their way into the school’s Birding Club chimney, looking to roost. Join our Wildlife Manager for a short walk Saturday, October 4, 9 am to see if this natural spectacle See September 6. happens again. Blessing of the Animals Meet at Sachkerah Woods, Sunday, October 5, Noon - 2 pm Gun Hill Rd. & Jerome Ave. Creatures great and small are

It’s My Park! Day Saturday, October 25

Classic Clean Up 10 am travel through New York City. Plant bulbs, paint benches, Meet the Rangers remove garbage or rake leaves. at the Nature Center. It’s a wonderful way to pitch in and feel, “Hey, it’s my park!” Halloween Fun Run 2 pm Howl-O-Ween Meet the Friends of Van Run like a bunny, or leap like Sunday, October 26 Noon - 2 pm Cortlandt Park at Classic a frog. Just make They’re back—fabulous, furry Playground. sure you do it in costume! friends in their costumed finest. Fall Migration 11 am For kids ages Bring your dog to compete, or 2 - 10 years old. just stop by to observe unleashed Each year flocks of tiny, color- cuteness. ful migratory warblers fly south Meet at the for the winter, unnoticed by the Tortoise and Hare Fee: $10 per dog. Preregistration untrained eye. Observe these Statue at Broad- required, call 718-796-4541. stealthy passerines as they way & 246 St. Canine Court. Enter park at Broadway & 252 St.

2 Programs are FREE unless noted. Call 718-430-1890 for information or directions.

Call 718-543-3344 for fees November and information. Van Cortlandt House Museum Birding Club Saturday, November 1, 9 am Christmas in the Colonies See September 6. Saturday & Sunday, Veterans Day Remembrance December 13 & 14, 4 pm - 7 pm Sunday, November 9, Noon The halls will be decked Pay homage to the men and with holly and decorated women who gave their lives in Colonial style. Enjoy live for our country. holiday music and dance, Memorial Grove, refreshments and guided Broadway & 246 St. tours focusing on the history of St. Nicholas Medicinal Plants Day, Christmas, and Saturday, November 15, 11 am Twelfth Night. Throughout history and around Call 718-543-3344 for the globe, plants have been used fees and reservations. as remedies for all kinds of mala- Van Cortlandt House Museum dies. Identify the useful plants John Muir Trail Hike Washington’s Evacuation Day that make Van Cortlandt Park home, and learn their varied uses. Saturday, December 20, 11 am Saturday, November 8, 11 am - 4 pm Meet at the Nature Center. Explore the park’s only east-west Commemorate the 225th trail and discover different animal Anniversary of General George Post-Turkey Super Hike habitats along the way. Washington’s triumphant return Saturday, November 29, 11 am Meet at Broadway & Mosholu Ave. to New York which marked the end of the Revolutionary War! On Walk off that enormous dinner as Washington’s way down from tem- we hike the park’s northern trails. porary headquarters in Newburgh, Breathe deep! he spent the night at the Van Meet at Broadway & Mosholu Ave. Cortlandts’ house. His arrival in the Bronx and departure for Man- hattan, complete with mounted escort unit, will be re-enacted. December Call 718-543-3344 Birding Club for more information. Saturday, December 6, 9 am Van Cortlandt House Museum See September 6.

Creature Feature: Saint Nicholas Day Night Hike Saturday, December 6, Saturday, November 8, 7 pm 11 am – 4 pm Owls, bats, coyotes and A popular feast day for children, Solstice Candle-Boats muskrats—are they visitors, Saint Nicholas Day was celebrated Sunday, December 21, 5 pm residents or just urban legend? by the Van Cortlandt family in the Search for signs and find 18th century. Enjoy special tours, Set afloat your wishes for the answers. a cup of hot chocolate or mulled season on this shortest day of the Meet the Rangers at cider around the campfire, and year. Candles and floats provided. the Nature Center. look for Saint Nicholas’s arrival Van Cortlandt Lake. Enter at Bailey on horseback. Ave. & Van Cortlandt Park South.

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Directions Phone Numbers Van Cortlandt House Museum By Car: The Major Deegan Expressway has two Administrator’s Office 718.543.3344 park exits: Van Cortlandt Park South, which serves 718.430.1890 the south and west portions of the park and East Van Cortlandt 233rd Street, which serves the north and east. Friends of Van Cortlandt City of New York Nature Center The Henry Hudson Parkway’s Broadway exits Park 718.548.0912 Parks & Recreation also serve the park. Mosholu Parkway links Van 718.601.1553 www.nyc.gov/parks/vancortlandt Cortlandt Park with the Bronx River and Pelham Events and General Parkways. Broadway runs along the park’s west- Mosholu Golf Center and ern perimeter; Jerome Avenue and Van Cortlandt Driving Range Information Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor 311 Park East border the park on the east side. 718.655.9164 Adrian Benepe, Commissioner By Bus: The Bx9 travels along Broadway on the Park Enforcement Patrol western edge of Van Cortlandt Park. The BxM3, Bronx Recreation Hector M. Aponte, Bronx Borough Commissioner an express line serving Manhattan, offers access 718.430.1815 General Information Margot Perron, Van Cortlandt Park Administrator to the park’s western border. The park’s east side Riverdale Equestrian 718.430.1825 is served by the Bx16, Bx 31 and Bx34. Westches- Center ter bus lines – numbers 1,2,3,4,20 and 21 also Stephanie Ehrlich, Editor 718.548.4848 Permits—Special Events serve the park. 718.430.1848 Margot Perron, Articles & Photographs By Subway: The northern terminus of the IRT Urban Park Rangers Cliff Harris, Designer #1 train at W. 242nd Street is near the Parade 718.548.0912 Permits—Sports Ground. 718.430.1840 Van Cortlandt Golf Course The IRT #4 train’s last stop at Woodlawn serves This publication is funded by a federal 718.543.4595 the park’s southeastern area. Community Development Block Grant and Bartlett Tree Experts. Teen Internships: Look Who’s Working!

f English teachers ask these terrific teens to write about their summer vacation, essay highlights Iare likely to include tales of hard work, hot weather and good times. Students might also recount how they learned the importance of reporting to work on time and ready to go. Maybe they’ll talk about the skills they gained like plant identification, tool safety, and teamwork. They could share the great feeling of pride they got for contributing to the well-being of the park as a vital community resource. Or, perhaps they’ll just remember laughing in the lush, green woodlands with the new friends they made – like minded teens, dedicated to improving the park for all its visitors.

The following teen groups The Friends of Van Cortlandt teens through The First Tee of worked hard to improve Van Park utilized NYC’s Summer Youth Metropolitan NY to teach younger Cortlandt Park this summer: Employment Program (SYEP) to pay children golf skills and maintain the and train teens. They maintained the course. Riverdale Equestrian Lehman College’s GEAR UP Old Croton Aqueduct and John Muir Center employed five interns to 10th graders received Street Tree Trails plus kept invasive weeds at bay. groom and care for the horses as Care training and certification from This well-established program is in well as teach younger children to TreesNY then assisted our forest its 17th year. ride. All five girls learned to ride at staff with tree work throughout the the center when they were younger. woods. This pilot program was The park’s concessionaires also hired modeled after Wave Hill’s successful teens. Van Cortlandt Golf Course We appreciate all our interns Forest Project Summer Collaborative. recruited twelve SYEP interns from and their efforts to keep Van Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club to work Cortlandt Park green and fun. on the course and in the golf house. Look for them next summer Mosholu Golf Course hired ten when they return as experienced peer leaders, ready to share their training and work in their beloved park once again.

Teens in their internship groups: Top Row: Van Cortlandt Golf Course, Mosholu Golf Course, Riverdale Equestrian Center Bottom Row: Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, Lehman College GEAR UP

6 Volunteering Does a Body Good

Select Saturdays 10 am – 1 pm Get fit and give back to the park by volunteering with the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park. Wear comfortable clothing and bring a snack and a drink. For more information about any of these opportunities, call 718-601-1553, visit www.vancortlandt.org or email [email protected].

Southeast Forest Project Family Day at the Garden September 13, 27 & October 18 October 4 Strengthen the diversity of our woodland Note time: 11 am - 2 pm ecosystem along the Croton Extension Trail by Green up the Nature Center Garden with plantings pulling out invasive weeds and putting in native of jewelweed, mayapple, ferns, and Solomon’s seal. plants. Meet at southwest corner of the Shandler Bring the kids and create EcoCrafts or plant seeds Recreation Area parking lot. Enter the park off in a peat pot to take home. Jerome Ave., south of East 233 St. Meet the Rangers at the Nature Center. Funded by New York Community Trust.

John Muir Trail Environmental Internship October 4 & November 15 Young people ages 14-18 learn first-hand Honor the man who put nature preservation on the about one of New York City’s greatest resources, map and founded the Sierra Club by working on his Van Cortlandt Park while carrying out trail namesake trail. Volunteers are needed to remove maintenance and beautification projects. Interns invasive plants and help plant native trees and are required to commit Fridays after school and shrubs. Meet at the Riding Stables. Enter the park every other Saturday, October - June. at Broadway & Mosholu Ave. Applications are available at Funded by BJ’s Charitable Foundation and American Hiking Society. www.vancortlandt.org. Ground Breaking News continued from p.1 path will be refurbished. This 65-acre federal, state and local funds. Trail has been submitted to NYS site was a plantation in Revolutionary Office of Parks, Recreation and His- 8. Memorial Grove at West 246th War days. Before Europeans set foot in toric Preservation. Street will receive landscaping the Bronx, local Lenape Indians lived makeovers, and Healy Field will 10. We are currently seeking funds in an extensive village here. The cost be renovated. Councilman G. Oliver to replace the play equipment and of this restoration project includes the Koppell recently committed funds to upgrade the comfort station at Stadium Infield at $15 million. these much-needed upgrades. Bronx Woodlawn Playground. Look for these additional projects in Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr. the future: is assisting with costs for the field. We encourage you to visit the park 7. Putnam Trail, an old railroad 9. A grant application for funds to and take a peek at these projects as bed, is currently in design to become renovate the asphalt field at South- they progress. Please refer to the a greenway for hikers, bikers and west Playground for wheelchair numbered map of the park’s projects wheelchair users. This project is football and wheelchair baseball with or call the Administrator’s office at made possible by a combination of ramped connections to the Putnam 718-430-1890 for information.

7 LOOKING BACK at SUMMER This summer visitors paddled canoes, danced barefoot, aced the ball and enjoyed fireworks – All in Van Cortlandt Park!

(Left) Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, Jr. and wife Linda Baldwin brought family and friends to savor a perfect evening with the NY Philharmonic.

This year, one of the highlights of Barefoot Dancing, our outdoor music and dance series, was a partnership with Mind-Builders Creative Arts Center which brought master performer, Mamadou Dahoue to the park. Dahoue’s Ancestral Messengers shared Ivory Coast drumming and dance, while student-interns from Mind-Builders explained the country’s folk customs. (Below left) Breana Lafortune leads the participatory dancing. (Below right) Idrissa Kone drums while Mamadou Dahoue charms the crowd. (photos-Jade!)

(Above left) CityParks’ Tennis was a big hit with kids and seniors alike on our east side and west side courts. Pictured here, the entrance garden at Indian Field Tennis Court on the park’s east side. (Above right) Folks lined up for the excitement of canoeing with the Rangers at Van Cortlandt Lake.