PARKS PERSPECTIVES September-October 2013 Issue

NEIGHBORS, NEW COLLEGE FRESHMEN WORK TOGETHER FOR DAY OF SERVICE AT CITY PARKS Hundreds of college freshmen from , ESF and LeMoyne, along with some Neighborhood and parks Advocates, came together on August 24th for the annual Day of Service, and their hours and sweat yielded big results In the parks and green spaces throughout the City.

Armed with saws, rakes, loppers, pitch forks, and shovels, the teams took on the daunting tasks of sprucing up areas in Thornden, Elmwood, Kirk, Lincoln, and Schiller Parks, and along the Creekwalk and Rand Tract in the val- ley. Miranda Hine, from the As- sociation, reported that the group at the park, adjacent to SU, spent three hours weeding stretches of walkways around the Rose Garden and Lily Pond, tended to newly-planted trees. She estimated that 165 hours of volunteer work had been done at Thornden Park alone. City of Syracuse Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs Stephanie A. Miner, Mayor 412 Spencer St. Baye Muhummad, Commissioner Syracuse, 13204 John Walsh, Deputy Commissioner www.syracuse.ny.us/parks 315.473.4330 SPECIAL EVENTS

Syrathon is still running … Three runs that are part of the Syrathon series occur in Sep- tember and October The International Arts & Puppet The Strathmore It’s amore at La Festa Italiana Festival, hosted by the Open with all the food, the music, Parks Run Hand Theater, returns this fall on and a bocce ball tournament. Sat., Sept. 14 at its North Salina 4 mile-race will The festival will take place in Street location. Visit be held Sun., Sept. 15, starting front of City Hall Friday, Sept. www.openhandtheater.org and and ending in Onondaga Park. 13 through Sun., Sept. 15. For click on Shows. This year’s course will also in- more information, check out clude Elmwood Park. Visit www.festaitaliana.bizland.com www.strathmoreparksrun.com for all the registration and route information.

A Run for Their Life will be on Sun., Sun., Oct. 13, beginning at Manley Field House. The 15K and 5K events will benefit the Carol Baldwin Foundation. Check out Celebrate the neighborhood’s www.cmbarunfortheirlife.com The Fair celebrates the diversity rich and musical heritage at for more info. and uniqueness of this neigh- this annual event on Sat., borhood on Sun., Sept. 15. Vis- Sept. 21, at Pass Arboretum. it www.westcottstreetfair.org The Eastwood For more information, visit for more information. Park-to-Park Run www.tipphillmusicfest.org is a 5-miler through East

In the weeks ahead, be sure to visit wood, beginning at Sunnycrest Park. The event, presented by www.syracuse.ny.us/parks, and click on Cal- the Eastwood Neighborhood endar of Events for information on upcom- Association is slated for Sun., Oct. 27. Check out ing holiday events for you and your family. www.eastwoodrun.com for all the info. SPECIAL EVENTS

Featuring The Once Upon a Nightmare Haunted House The Pumpkin Patch (for the younger little ghosts and goblins) Games, activities, face painting Free Admission 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Oct. 18 & 19 and 25 & 26 , Coleridge Ave. The event is inside so it goes on regardless of the weather

Sponsored in part by:

Taking steps to help at the Inner Harbor, downtown parks

The Inner Harbor and various parks in the area and will host a number of walks and runs. Below is the list of events with the respective websites for more information. ALS Walk – Sept. 21 – Inner Harbor — http://webuny.alsa.org Stand Up Against Suicide – Sept. 28 – Inner Harbor Amphitheater — www.facebook.com/ standagainstsuicide Hope for Heather – Sept. 28 – Inner Harbor Amphitheater — www.hopeforheather.com Light the Night Walk to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society – Oct. 2 – — www.lightthenight.org CROP Walk – Oct. 20 – Columbus Circle — www.hunger.cwsglobal.org Making Strides Against Breast Cancer -- Clinton Square — www.makingstrideswalk.org SPECIAL EVENTS — Scenes from the Summer SPECIAL EVENTS — Scenes from the Summer (cont’d)

SHAKING IT UP AT CLINTON SQUARE

The Parks Department partnered with downtown’s Metro Fitness and Thrive magazine to present a new Zumba program during the lunch hour on Wednes- days. The program, held in Clinton Square, saw about 20 participants the first week, and it grew in popularity throughout the summer. Randy Sabour- tin, from Metro Fitness, already has some ideas for additional wellness programs during the summer of 2014.

TOOTING OUR OWN HORNS

The Stan Colella All-Star Band finished another successful season, having performed well over 50 concerts for CNY audiences. Un- der the direction of Joe Carello, the band is made up of some of the area’s most talented young musicians. Many of the sites where the band played, including Loretto Buck- ley Landing, Churchill Manor, St. Camillus, Iroquois Mursing Home, the Solvay Senior Citizen Club, The Hearth at Greenpoint, Geddes Seniors, St. John’s Golden Ages club, James Square and Members of the All-Star Band’s trumpet sec- Nottingham Retirement Community, made generous donations to tion, including, from left, Matteo Piriano, So- the Tim Laun Memorial Scholarship Fund, which provides monies phia Kinne, Anne Marie Reedy and Joe for Barnes & Noble gift cards. These cards are presented to the Moore. band’s graduating members to help get them started on their col- lege careers. ADULT RECREATION

And the winners are:

Men’s A Champs: Donigan Insurance

Men’s B Champs: Roadhawks ADULT RECREATION (cont’d)

Women’s Champs: Liberty Lacrosse

Winter Leagues Sign-Up Information AQUATICS

Lessons for adults and youth; water exercise; public swim; lap swim; employment opportunities for life- guards, classes for water safety in- structors – all this through the city’s Aquatics Division. Visit www.syracuse.ny,us/parks. On the Divisions tab, click on Aquatics, and check out all that’s offered for you.

YOUTH RECREATION

WEST SIDE YOUTH SOCCER THIS FALL AT BURNET PARK Instructional youth soccer, for children ages 4 to 12, returns to Burnet Park on Saturdays, from Sept. 14 through Oct. 19, as the Parks Department partners with the expert coaches from the Ultimate Goal. Sessions are at 9 a.m, 10:15am and 11:30am, based on age division. Team games will follow several weeks of instructional clinics that teach a small, simple and realistic form of soccer! To register online, go to www.ultimategoalonline.com . On-site registration will be permitted, if space allows. Fees are $35 city resident ($60 non city) For more information, call Ultimate Goal: 673-4625 or City Parks 473- 4330, or e-mail: [email protected]

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

LEE GLOVER

To say that Lee Glover stays active is an understatement. He is a ball of perpetual motion. He is responsible for the upkeep of the parks and the playground areas in the city’s North side, which consists of more than 50 acres. In addi- tion, he power washes each of the department’s picnic shelters on a reg- ular basis to make them more pleasant for patrons to enjoy. Lee has been with the City for approximately 18 years, the last 10 of which have been with Parks. Prior to that, he has worked in the Police Department, the Water Department and several division of the Depart- ment of Public Works. He also is involved in the Syracuse Elks Lodge #1104, on South Salina Street, and he works part-time as a security guard.

Senior Center Director Earns “Going the Extra Mile Award”

Senior programs director Tom White recently received the “Going the Extra Mile” award from Mayor Stephanie Miner in ceremonies at City Hall. The honor, presented quarterly, recognizes exemplary service to the public as a representative of the City of Syracuse. Tom marks his 30th anniversary with the Department in November. He has been in the Aquatics Division before moving into an administrative role. He currently oversees the Magnarelli Center at McChesney and coordinates the programming and activities for the Department’s senior centers.

Barbara Grimes Retires

We bid a fond farewell and wishes for a happy retirement to Barbara Grimes, a long-time director of the Wilson Com- munity Center. Because of the close proximity of the Center to Syracuse University, Ms. Grimes took the initia- tive to create a variety of partnerships with SU develop programs for the children who attended the Center. We acknowledge all her efforts and the positive impact she has had on the children at the center — as well as our staff.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS — Onondaga Park Designs

SENIOR PROGRAMS

Trips to the E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden, the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and the Cortland Reper- tory Theater, a lunch cruise on the , and a Luau Luncheon were just some of the fun activities seniors took part in through the Parks Department’s Senior programs. The Department’s Senior division offers day trips, fitness programs, special events , social activities and lunch programs out of the Mag- narelli Community at McChesney Park on the Northside, the Cecile Community Center in the Val- ley and the Westside Senior Center. Call the Mag- narelli Center at 473-2673 or the Cecile Center at 473-2678 for information. SUMMER CAMPS FROM A TO Z

Whether it was arts and crafts or zoo animals, hundreds of local youth spent part of their summer in City parks, enjoying the wide variety of camps offered by the Department’s Recreation Division, By collaborating with such groups as , Syracuse University, the Syracuse Police and Fire Departments, SUNY ESF, the Museum of Science and Technology and the , children were able to take part in Arts & Crafts, Ani- mal Camp, Robotics Camp, the MOST Science and the ESF Envi- ronmental Science Camps, Summerstage Camp, Track and Field Camp, Tennis Camp, Jr. Golf Academy, Multi-Sports Camp, and Police & Fire Camp.

Animal Camp Arts & Crafts Camp Basketball Camp ESF Environmen- tal Science Camp Jr. Golf Academy M.o.S.T. Museum Science Camp, Multi -Sport Camp Police & Fire Camp Robotics Camp Soccer Camp Summerstage Camp Tennis Camp Track & Field Camp SUMMER CAMPS (cont’d) A.C.T.I.O.N. Summer League Champions Crowned

Another exciting summer of competitive youth basketball concluded on August 13th at the Magnarelli Recrea- tion Center with championship games in 5 divisions of the 2013 A.C.T.I.O.N. Basketball League. A packed gymnasium witnessed the Gaelic Knights of Bishop Ludden hold off the Black Knights of Henninger, 59-49, to claim the Summer League title in the Varsity Boys Division. Earlier in the evening, the Nottingham Girls Varsi- ty squad defeated Bishop Ludden, 38-21, to repeat as summer league champions, and the Henninger Black Knights topped CBA to claim the first ever Junior Varsity Team Championship. Also that day, champions were crowned in the Open League divisions for 11-12 year old and 13-15 year old players. All told, 42 teams, with more than 400 total players, competed through the summer months in three team and two open divisions of play. The A.C.T.I.O.N. League strives to bring together youth from different City neighborhoods and surrounding communities for spirited competition and fair play. Syracuse Parks and Recreation also wishes to congratulate our 2013 A.C.T.I.O.N. League Award winners: Wesley Valentine Sportsmanship Award Boys Varsity League: Tim Kaigler (Bishop Ludden) Girls Varsity League: Chyanna Canada (Nottingham) Amp Lewis Sportsmanship Award JV League: KJ White (Henninger) More A.C.T.I.O.N. League SALT CITY GAMES

Children from across Syra- cuse came together to com- pete in a variety of free ath- letic contests, including bas- ketball, kickball, swimming, tennis, golf, and track and field. The department wish- es to thank all staff, coaches, officials, volunteers, parents, children, and sponsors like KeyBank, who make this week possible each and eve- ry summer. Results from the 2013 Games can be found on our website… http:// www.syracuse.ny.us/parks/ saltCityGames.html CITY PARKS SAYS THANKS

City Parks wishes to thank State Senator Dave Valesky and his staff for all of their time and effort during a clean-up at Kirk Park on August 23. The team of volunteers worked together with Kirk Park youth to spread mulch, beautify flower beds and pick up litter. Afterward, Senator Valesky presented award certificates to the young winners of a Summer Art contest sponsored by his office.

The Parks Department would like to thank its many sponsors and friends that helped to make our programs and events possible this summer:

VALLEY MEN’S CLUB