Parks Post May / June 2007 Borough Beat Photo of the Month
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City of New York Parks & Recreation Brooklyn Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor Adrian Benepe, Commissioner Parks Post May / June 2007 Borough Beat Photo of the Month Welcome to the Parks Post, a bimonthly newsletter with information for you! I’m Adrian Benepe, New York City Commissioner for Parks & Recreation. Your Brooklyn Borough Commissioner, Julius Spiegel, and I are working hard to make your parks cleaner, greener, and more fun! We’ll be keeping you up to date about our progress on the Parks Department’s three main priorities in the coming year: • Kids First • Greening New York • Bringing Community into Parks We want to keep you informed about the latest and greatest in your local parks – from the Brooklyn Heights Promenade to Coney Island. See you in the parks! Adrian Benepe Young gardeners joined Parks officials, Council Member Letitia James, and Commissioner Borough President Marty Markowitz to beautify Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn at a recent It’s My Park! Day. (Photo by Malcolm Pinckney) Julius Spiegel Brooklyn Borough It’s My Park! Day happens again on May 19. Brooklyn sites include Fort Greene, Kaiser, Commissioner and Prospect Parks. For more information, visit www.itsmypark.org or call 311. Citywide Spotlight May is Bike Month, and the Parks Department is celebrating by encouraging you to check out your parks on two wheels. On May 16, Parks will officially open the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway, a 40-mile bike trail that runs from Coney Island to Little Bay Park in Queens, with destinations including the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Queens Botanical Garden. Get your copy of the new guidebook at the ribbon cutting. It’s also available online and at Parks facilities and bicycle shops along the Greenway. Greenways are for everyone: cyclists, joggers, strollers, skaters, people in wheelchairs or who are mobility impaired, dog walkers, bird watchers, kids and adults, families and friends, recreational users and commuters. Over the next four years, Parks will spend more than $200 million to add 40 more miles and enhance the Greenway with comfort stations, boat launches, and environmental restoration projects. Also, on three weekends in May, Parks staff and volunteers will “Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike.” Find dates, locations, registration, and general information about rolling around New York City at www.nyc.gov/parks. www.nyc.gov/parks Calendar Feature of the Month The end of March marked the beginning of a summer of fun in Coney Island. As Astroland It’s My Park! Day Saturday, May 19, 2007 opened its doors for the season, the Parks Department held a wildly successful kick-off celebration, hosting its first annual Coney Island Boardwalk Barrels of Fun. The event invited FORT GREENE VISITORS’ CENTER 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. young, aspiring artists to show off their skills in a barrel-painting competition. The Parks KAISER PARK Department provided blank barrels and painting supplies to almost 100 contestants who came 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. from all over the borough to compete. Litter barrels were painted in a variety of landscape, West 31st Street and Neptune Avenue seascape, and carnival themes. Awards will be handed out in three different categories: High PROSPECT PARK School, College, and Independent when Coney Island Beach opens Memorial Day weekend. 9:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Ocean and Parkside Avenues The newly-painted barrels are to be placed along the boardwalk, providing those who stroll 9th Street and Prospect Park West along the beach a more aesthetic place to toss their garbage. The event was such a huge success that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who was present at the festivities, Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike said he looks forward to an even bigger event next spring. BROWNSVILLE RECREATION CENTER Saturday, May 19, 2007 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Did You Know? Mayor’s Alliance/ Maddie’s Pet Adoption Festival FORT GREENE PARK POP QUIZ PROSPECT PARK Sunday, May 20, 2007 1. Prior to the revolution, Peter Caesar Alberti used the land that today is Fort Greene Park 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. as what kind of plantation? A. Cotton B. Opium C. Tobacco D. Wheat Canoe the Lullwater PROSPECT PARK 2. Which author was a key player in the development of Fort Greene (then Washington) Park? Saturday, June 2, 2007 A. Walt Whitman B. Edgar Allen Poe C. Tennessee Williams D. Sun Tzu 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. 3. Which President has attended ceremonies at Fort Greene Park? 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. A. Bush B. Clinton C. Kennedy D. Taft Music in Fort Greene Park FORT GREENE PARK 4. Who designed the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument? Saturday, June 9, 2007 A. Frederick Law Olmsted B. Calvert Vaux C. John Jackson D. Stanford White 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 5. The Native Americans who inhabited the area were the: Crafty Caterpillars: A. Sioux B. Seminole C. Canarsie D. Mohicans Moths vs. Butterflies PROSPECT PARK BOATHOUSE Sunday, June 10, 2007 Current Events 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. I Spy Nature Program MARINE PARK Tuesday, June 12, 2007 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. What’s going on in my park this weekend? How do I request a tree for my street? How can I report a problem in a park? For answers to these questions and Parks hosts the first annual Coney Island Boardwalk Fourth graders from P.S. 48 help Parks break more, visit www.nyc.gov/parks or Barrels of Fun event to beautify the boardwalk. ground at Gravesend Park in Brooklyn. call 311. (Photo by Bob Rieves) (Photo by Daniel Avila) Answers: 1. C, 2. A, 3. D, 4. D, 5. C 5. D, 4. D, 3. A, 2. C, 1. Answers: www.nyc.gov/parks.