I caught up with Ms. Vega, and Mrs. White, to learn more about their story and connection to Parks. Mrs. White, a self-described "city girl," was born in 1916 in Manhattan, and her family later moved to Queens, where she attended Far Rockaway High School. Though the years may have slowed Ms. White-now 92 years old and living at the Elant assisted living facility in Goshen, New York-she vividly recalls her brief but adventurous stint as co-keeper of the Children's Farm.

The story begins a few years earlier when she met Aaron White while she was working as a cashier at the New York World's Fair of 1939-40, held in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. He was originally a farmer from Maine, where he had overseen a 400-acre farm in the town of Newport. At the Fair he worked as a driver for the Greyhound Bus Service. They courted and were wed on March 3, 1941.

After the Fair, the New York Zoological Society planned to launch an educational Children's Farm on the Pelham Parkway outskirts of the Bronx Zoo. Her husband applied for the head position, and got the job of overseeing pigs, goats, cows, chickens and other barnyard denizens at this Bronx refuge. In addition to conducting farm chores and maintenance, Aaron gave tours for school groups. Mrs. White largely took care of the domestic duties, gathering the eggs which she redistributed, and churning butter from the fresh milk produced by the farm's cows. She and her husband got to know the animals intimately, witnessing several births, including that of a calf. It was also during this time that her first child, Harry, was born.

Mrs. White recalls this relatively brief period in her life with fondness, and recounted an incident when one of the goats to which she tended climbed the stairs of their apartment on the premises, and chased her mother around the parlor. Her husband was a local celebrity of sorts, appearing on the cover of Cue magazine, and in an accompanying photo essay staged with a professional female model.

A year after the United States entered World War II Aaron was drafted into the army, and served an eight-month stint in the service. The family's days as urban farmers were over, though the family stayed in the Bronx for many years. Later Mr. White would return to Maine to farm for a period, and the family eventually settled in Briarwood, Queens, not far from Kew Gardens. Mr. White again worked as a bus driver at the second New York World's Fair of 1964-65 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and also as a professional chauffeur. Family legend has it that some of his more notable passengers included Jackie Gleason, Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor (when they eloped to get married), and the Beatles!

Mrs. White and her family are appreciative of the park history website feature in which her photo appears, and for the memories it has stirred.

For more on the history of the city's zoos visit: www.nyc.gov/parks Keyword: Zoos in Parks

Written by Jonathan Kuhn, Director, Art & Antiquities

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept."

Ansel Adams
(1902 - 1984)

Written by Adrienne Meryl-Stern

GO GREEN! ECO TIP OF THE DAY

Refurbish office electronics or relinquish them to non-profit 501-3C companies.

http://getenergysmart.org

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884 - 1962)

The parks are never lovelier than in autumn, when leaves start turning gold and red. Join the Urban Park Rangers of some of the best sites or head out for an exploration of your own.

Uptown Treasures Celebration

This Sunday, celebrate a day of art, music, history, and family fun at some of the historic and cultural centers of northern Manhattan! Ten cultural sites, four of them in parks, are holding events all day long, including treasure hunts, concerts, tours, and art workshops. Visit www.nyc.gov/parks for more information.

Saturday, October 17th

Ederle Swim
10:15 a.m. - 6:15 p.m.
North Cove, Manhattan

Marine Park Civic Association Annual Halloween Walk
1:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Marine Park, Brooklyn

Cass Gallagher Hike
11:00 a.m.
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx

Halloween Harvest Festival
11:00a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens

Creepy Crawlers Extravaganza: Gone Batty
6:00 p.m.
Bloomingdale Park, Staten Island

Sunday, October 18th

Fall for Photography
11:00 a.m.
Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan

History Club: Gravesend Cemetery Tour
11:00 p.m.
Gravesend Cemetery, Brooklyn

Fall Warbler Watch
12:00 p.m.
Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

Solid as a Rock: The Old Fort
1:00 p.m.
Fort Totten Park, Queens

Old Home Day
11:00am
Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"One belongs to New York instantly; one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years."

Thomas Wolfe
(1900 - 1938)

"In the spirit of Columbus Day, we honor Joseph Petrosino, an Italian-American police officer killed in the line of duty overseas, and the hero for whom Petrosino Park is named," said Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "The reconstructed Petrosino Park has doubled in size, and features new benches, plantings, pavements, and fencing. Thanks to City Council Member Alan Gerson's generous funding allocation, this newly renovated park is an expanded oasis of green in the midst of the bustling neighborhood of SoHo."

A popular community destination, Petrosino Park is located at the crossroads of Little Italy, Chinatown, and the Bowery. The park features new pavements and curbs, fencing, plantings, benches and a drinking fountain. The park is also double its former size, after being expanded onto Lafayette and Spring Streets. Its $2 million reconstruction was funded entirely by Council Member Gerson.

Also in attendance at the event were Nino Milito, Lt. Petrosino's grandnephew and the director of the Petrosino Museum in Padula, Italy; Assistant District Attorney in Brooklyn and another grandnephew of Petrosino's, Joseph A. Petrosino; and his son, Joseph M. Petrosino, who is continuing his family's tradition by serving as a New York City police officer.

Petrosino was born in Salerno, Italy in 1860 and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1873. At age 18 he began his career in public service with Sanitation, then under the jurisdiction of the Police Department. He aided the police by working undercover as an informer in Little Italy before joining the Police Department in 1883. He was the shortest officer at 5'3" tall.

In 1895 Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt personally promoted Petrosino to Sergeant of Detectives. While investigating anarchists in the United States, he warned President McKinley of the threats plotted against his life. (McKinley was assassinated in 1901.) Petrosino later became a lieutenant and was given command of the new Italian Squad to combat the crime organization known as the Black Hand.

Under his leadership many people were arrested and convicted, reducing the crime rate against Italian-Americans by 50 percent. Petrosino was assassinated in Palermo, Italy in 1909 while on assignment investigating criminal records of organized crime leaders for their deportation. The park, formerly known as Kenmare Square, was renamed in memory of Police Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino by a local law, introduced by Council Member Miriam Friedlander, passed by the City Council, and signed by Mayor Edward I. Koch in 1987.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The time is always right to do what is right."

Martin Luther King Jr.
(1929 - 1968)

"Christine Rumpf was a professional, warm, thoughtful, devoted Parkie, and we are devastated by her sudden loss, just a few weeks before her planned retirement. She worked her way up through the Operations division-historically dominated by men-proving to women everywhere that hard work, determination and talent will be rewarded if you persevere," said Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "She will be remembered for her detail-minded work attitude, patience and tolerance, kindness to strangers, candor and laughter, fortitude and tenacity, and enthusiasm for all things green. Our last chance to enjoy her company was just a few weeks ago at the Best of Parks ceremony on Governor's Island, and we had the pleasure-now bittersweet-of sharing with her how much she meant to us. Our thoughts are with her husband Billy, her children, and her entire family."

Christine began her career as a licensed schoolteacher who taught in New York City and abroad in Bolivia. She joined Parks in 1979 as a Seasonal CSA and moved up the ranks, first working at the tennis courts on Staten Island and then as a borough timekeeper and seasonal skate guard. Christine distinguished herself for the personal attention and good cheer she brought to each day.

Christine was also a trendsetter, becoming a role model for women taking on operational roles at Parks. She became an APSW in 1983 and took the road test for her commercial drivers license while 8 months pregnant. A week later, she delivered twin boys. Working in Brooklyn, Christine was the first female Parks Supervisor selected from the Civil Service list in 1987. Her later career included stints at Battery Park as a Park Supervisor, Riverside Park as a Principal Park Supervisor, as an APRM in Brooklyn, and finally the appointment as Deputy Chief of Operations on Staten Island, where she served for seven years. Christine was active in the Parks Emerald Society and also made time to support her fellow Parkies in other Parks cultural organizations. She received a "perfect attendance" award in 2002 for not taking a sick day in over five years.

As a Deputy Chief of Operations, Christine enjoyed taking on projects even if she was not required to do so. In June 2008, Christine helped coordinate a field dedication ceremony for fallen Police Officer Russell Timoshenko. Even though the event was not assigned to her, she believed it was the right thing to do. Recently, the day before she was admitted to the hospital for her illness, she insisted on attending a test-run of new beach cleaning equipment at Conference House Park, despite not feeling well.

Christine was also a mentor to young people in the agency and took time to give them advice about how to map a career with Parks, helping hundreds of staffers throughout the years. Her most important assistance, however, was to a filter plant operator named Billy who had a paycheck issue in 1981. Young Billy Rumpf was missing a paycheck and brought it to the attention of the borough office timekeeper, Christine. To thank her, he took her to dinner at the famous Riviera restaurant, then down the aisle as his bride a year later. They raised their family in the Sunnyside section of Staten Island.

Thoughts on Christine Rumpf from those who worked with her:

"Christine was a pioneer in the agency, a woman in Operations who moved up the ranks at a time when women did not hold such high level positions. She took on assignments and did them with enthusiasm; even if it was something she didn't particularly enjoy doing. Whatever she was asked to do she did. She was respected by both men and women at Parks and she will be remembered by all who knew her."

Thomas Paulo, Staten Island Borough Commissioner

"Christine may have been a Deputy Chief of Operations in title, but to me, she was so much more. She was my right hand and accomplice, the closer of the deal, the person I conferred with regarding whatever was coming down the pike and most importantly, a dear friend. I especially admired Christine for her accomplishment in becoming the first civil service female Park Supervisor and blazing the Operations trail for all women in Parks."

Lynda Ricciardone, Staten Island Chief of Operations

"I first worked with Christine back in the 1980s in Brooklyn. I had made the move from the Ranger program to Operations. It was a difficult career move for me for many reasons and there were only a few people who welcomed and supported me at that time. Christine was one of those people. I will always hold her in high regard for the encouragement she gave me. Chris had a great sense of humor and approached her job with vigor and skill. She could be tough when she had to be, but anyone who knew her would tell you that she was a sweetheart. Her loss is a real tragedy for her family and for all of us at Parks."

Charlie Gili, Brooklyn Chief of Operations

"Christine was thoughtful and selfless, a civil servant in the purest and truest sense. She genuinely cared about serving the public and was not afraid to get her hands dirty. She didn't see work as 9 to 5, she stayed until the job was done and done well. She will be sorely missed."

Marty Maher, Brooklyn Chief of Staff

"Richie Lasansky's Menagerie is a larger than life exhibition that gives humanlike qualities to wildlife found in many of the city's zoos," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "We are pleased to bring Mr. Lasansky's thoughtful work to the Gallery in the Arsenal, the very first home of the Central Park Menagerie in the 1860s. These elaborate pencil drawings will compel viewers to reconsider how we perceive and are perceived by these majestic creatures."

Displayed in the historic Arsenal, which housed the original Central Park Zoo, Lasansky's drawings in Menagerie are based on the artist's visits to the Bronx Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and Central Park Zoo. During his site visits, Lasansky collected raw material, which provided the foundation for his artistic imagination. Perhaps more than any visual art style, Lasansky is influenced by the Latin American literary tradition of "magic realism," exemplified in the writing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Like the author, Lasansky presents the fantastic and improbable as factual.

"Art should be more poetic than literal," said Lasansky. "The lines in a drawing are important, but it's the tension and space between them that has the power to capture your imagination."

Lasansky has been drawing animals since he was a little boy in South America. He studied biology in college but returned to art during an eight-year printmaking apprenticeship under his grandfather, master printmaker Mauricio Lasansky. Lasansky was born in 1970 in La Paz, Bolivia. He has lived in Costa Rica, Maine, and Iowa. Currently he lives and works in New York City.

The Arsenal Gallery is dedicated to examining themes of nature, urban space, wildlife, New York City parks, and park history. It is located on the third floor of the NYC Parks & Recreation headquarters, in Central Park, on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for holidays. Admission is free.

GO GREEN! ECO TIP OF THE DAY

Dusting can help save energy by making sure floor and wall vents are not blocked by furniture, fabrics, or other obstructions. Cleaning vents will mean less household or office energy exerted.

http://getenergysmart.org

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

Walt Disney
(1901 - 1966)

Programs throughout the week ranged from talks and discussions on the particular characteristics of urban soils, heavy metal contamination, urban gardening, and man-made soils to hands on field trips throughout the five boroughs. The organizers included the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, New York City Soil and Water Conservation District, City University of New York, the Central Park Conservancy and Natural Resources Group.

Deputy Chief Bram Gunther represented Parks on the organizing committee and several staff from Forestry, Horticulture, and Natural Resources hosted the conference attendees at sites throughout the five boroughs:

Native Plant Center, Staten Island

Ed Toth, Director of the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, led a group around the 13-acre greenhouse and nursery, and explained different aspects of the plant propagation process. This tour highlighted efforts by Parks to conserve and protect the local genotypes of native plants populations in New York City. Through the PlaNYC reforestation efforts and the continued threats of invasive species, the Native Plant Center is an invaluable asset to current and future plant communities around the city.

NYC Greenstreets Program, Citywide

Adriana Jacykewycz, Parks' Director of Greenstreets, and environmental engineer Nandan Shetty showed off one of their latest creative effort to support New York City's aging sewer infrastructure at 110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan. This Greenstreet is specially designed to capture and absorb rainfall instead of letting large amounts of water rush into the sewers during rain events. The water is purposely diverted away from the roadways and funneled into beds of trees, shrubs, and grasses. Adriana and Nandan described the design of the Greenstreet as well as the various monitoring systems that have been installed in the Greenstreet to track performance.

Soundview Park, Bronx - Park Restoration

Some of the "land" New Yorkers walk on today used to be much different years ago. The field trip to Soundview Park highlighted the use of old landfill sites for building and constructing some green spaces today. Marit Larson, a project manager leading restoration efforts in the Bronx, explained the evolution of Soundview Park and the ongoing efforts to restore an area once used to dump garbage and building rubble into a recreation area that also encourages the growth of native aquatic and terrestrial plants and animals. Two soil pits were dug with the help of Parks personnel to show the different layers of soil and old landfill components deposited over many decades.

Kissena Park, Queens

Mike Feller, chief naturalist of the Natural Resources Group, led the tour of Kissena Park. Kissena Park has played a large role in the PlaNYC reforestation effort with over 10,000 trees planted to date. He spoke about the native soils found in the New York area and the need to mitigate Parks and other large landscaping projects with clean, high quality soils that can often be sourced from nearby construction excavation projects.

Written by Brady Simmons

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"All truth, in the long run, is only common sense clarified."

Thomas Huxley
(1825 - 1895)

Kate Rimsky, Alessandra Szulc, and Lindsay Tague are Central Recreation's VISTAs. They are charged with the task of creating sustainable volunteer opportunities and programs. Kate comes from Port Washington and went to Union College in Schenectady, NY, where she majored in art history and English. Kate is "happy to be given the opportunity to hopefully improve volunteer participation at the recreation centers." Alessandra, or Alex as she likes to be called, is a native New Yorker who studied medieval history at Johns Hopkins University and was drawn to the health aspect of the program. "I am looking forward to expanding health initiatives in the recreation centers through volunteer programming in areas such as fitness and nutrition," she says.. Lindsay, who also went to Johns Hopkins and received her degree in public health, is excited about creating opportunities for volunteers across the city. Lindsay says, "I love working with Recreation and have enjoyed seeing many of the recreation centers that make up the Parks department!"

Gina Baldwin, Karina E. Cuevas, Emily-Bell Dinan, Ethan Mulligan, and Paula Silverman are MillionTreesNYC's VISTAs. Their primary mission is to create a tree stewardship program. Gina relocated to New York City after receiving her degree in French and political science from the University of Idaho. Working with the outreach program at the Queens Botanical Garden, Gina wants to "energize folks in Queens to contribute to the greening of their communities and get to know each other better in the process." This is Karina's second time being a VISTA; she belonged to the first class in 2003 when she worked with the American Red Cross in Greater New York as a community outreach/emergency preparedness coordinator. Karina feels lucky to be placed with the MillionTreesNYC program this time and says she hopes it will be a model program for other urban areas to follow. A Queens native, Emily-Bell has been involved with community gardening since childhood and studied political science, history and Chinese at Hunter College. Emily-Bell is working with MillionTreesNYC to "encourage stewardship, community greening, and ensure that New York step into a more sustainable tomorrow." Ethan was inspired to become a VISTA by President Obama's call to service after graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in political science. He believes "going green" is key to America's economic future and is eager to develop a stewardship program to help New Yorkers learn how to care for the City's trees. After ten years of being an editor at Parade Magazine, Paula was inspired to service by Mayor Bloomberg. She says, "it's great to feel like you are making a tangible, quantifiable difference in combating pollution and climate change and contributing to the beautification of the city through the MillionTreesNYC campaign."
Written by Adrienne Meryl-Stern

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was."

Toni Morrison
(1931 - )

On October 24, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and the City's Chief Service Officer Diahann Billings-Burford kicked off a citywide volunteer effort - through MillionTreesNYC Fall Planting Day and It's My Park Day - by joining over 200 volunteers to plant 3,000 trees near Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park. Throughout the day, more than 1,000 New Yorkers volunteered across the city to plant a total of 20,000 trees in parks and natural forests while another 4,000 mulched, planted, and cleaned city's greenspaces in all five boroughs.

"Across the five boroughs, thousands of New Yorkers rolled up their sleeves and dug into 100 projects in local parks for MillionTreesNYC Planting Day and It's My Park Day, an event co-sponsored with City Parks Foundation, with leadership from the Mayor's Office and New York Restoration Project on the MillionTreesNYC plantings," said Commissioner Benepe. "Saturday's events give busy New Yorkers a great reason to get together to make a difference and improve our great parks. We are deeply grateful to our volunteers for their time, enthusiasm and energy today and throughout the year."

The MillionTreesNYC Fall Planting Day is the city's largest volunteer effort of the fall planting season. MillionTreesNYC, one of the Mayor's 127 PlaNYC initiatives, is a citywide, public-private program with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the City's five boroughs over the next decade. By planting one million trees, New York City can increase its urban forest-our most valuable environmental asset made up of street trees, park trees, and trees on public, private and commercial land-by an astounding 20 percent-while achieving the many quality-of-life benefits that come with planting trees. On Monday, October 5, Mayor Bloomberg along with Bette Midler, celebrated the two-year anniversary of MillionTreesNYC by planting the 250,000th tree in St. Albans, Queens.

This year's MillionTreesNYC Fall Planting Day was sponsored by Home Depot, Toyota, Con Edison, and supported by Jamba Juice. In-kind donations were also generously provided by Rob Cano Events and Green Apple Cleaners.

The MillionTreesNYC Fall Planting Day coincides with the semiannual It's My Park Day sponsored by Partnerships for Parks, a joint program of the City Parks Foundation and the Parks Department. Partnerships for Parks supported more than 4,000 volunteers who planted bulbs, painted fences, cleaned up and celebrated their communities at 100 projects and events around the city. Nearly 140 dedicated community groups contributed project ideas for It's My Park Day to help beautify 100 neighborhood parks in all five boroughs, creating greener, safer and more enjoyable public spaces.

The MillionTreesNYC Fall Planting Day and It's My Park Day present a range of opportunities throughout the five boroughs available through NYC Service. NYC Service was launched by Mayor Bloomberg in April and has three core goals: channel the power of volunteers to address the impacts of the current economic downturn, make New York City the easiest city in America in which to serve, and ensure every young person in New York City is taught about civic engagement and has an opportunity to serve. New Yorkers can find opportunities to serve their communities by visiting www.nyc.gov/service or by calling 311.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"A man thinks that by mouthing hard words he understands hard things."

Herman Melville
(1819 - 1891)

This year's talent showcase included Maria Cangiano, a tango singer from Argentina accompanied by violin and classical guitar, Ca y Cadencia, a Spanish Flamenco dance group, St. Mary's Recreation Center's own 'Second Generation' youth and teen salsa/folk dancers, and from Brandeis High School in Manhattan, teenage Salsa/Merengue/Bachata band De la Isla' performed to a dancing crowd!

In addition, Latin restaurant Sofrito on East 57th Street served samplings of their fine Puerto Rican cuisine and Rosa Mexicano offered its signature guacamole and chips.

Children from the East 54th Street Afterschool program also contributed to the event with a special exhibit highlighting famous Latinos. Teens from the Ranger Conservation Corps displayed informational plaques of the 20 Latin countries (can you name them all?).

The celebration, hosted and organized by Urban Park Ranger Christopher Acosta, is part of a series of events held at the E.54 St. Recreation Center that spotlight culture, history, community, recreation and fitness.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it."

Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(1927 - )

Whether you're brave enough to go on a haunted tour, curious enough to learn about the roots of this spooky holiday, or creative enough to craft a fancy pumpkin you've plucked from one of our patches, we've got an event for you.

ING New York City Marathon

It's that time again for the ING New York City Marathon! Come join the masses of spectators to cheer on these athletes in this exhilarating event. On Sunday, November 1, the runners will take their mark in Staten Island at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and continue the road race through Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan.

Saturday, October 31

A History of Halloween
11:00 a.m.
Blue Heron Park Preserve, Staten Island

Upper River Run: Thriller on the Bronx River
11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Bronx Park, Bronx

Halloween Walk & Fairytale Forest
2:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Owl's Head Park, Brooklyn

Halloween Haunted House
4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m.
Queens County Farm Museum, Queens

Spine Tingling & True: Ghost Stories of the Merchant's House Museum
7:00 p.m.
Merchant's House Museum, Manhattan

Sunday, November 1

Fall Colors
11:00 a.m.
Clove Lakes Park, Staten Island

Truths and Myths of Creepy Crawlers Creatures
12:30 p.m.
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn

Catapult Month: Pumpkin Chucking
1:00 p.m.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens

Fall Foliage
2:00 p.m.
Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

An Amble in the Autumn Amber with Paul Sadowski of the NY Mycological Society
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Inwood Hill Park, Manhattan

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

One need not be a chamber to be haunted;
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing
Material place.

Emily Dickinson
(1830 - 1886)

Happy Halloween!

"Thanks to nearly $2 million in funds from Mayor Bloomberg, DeKovats Playground has been completed renovated," said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe. "Children of all ages on the Upper East Side will delight in the park's new play equipment and water features. Perhaps most importantly, DeKovats Playground now features the latest in safety and accessible amenities."

The playground is adjacent to the Asphalt Green recreation complex in a neighborhood with mainly high-rise residential apartment buildings. The much-needed playground has been reconstructed to comply with new safety and accessibility guidelines. It consists of new play equipment for pre-teens and tots, safety surface, a new spray shower area, steel fences, drinking fountains, drainage and water supply, new pavement, curbs and plantings. It was designed by Landscape Architects Claire Dudley and Laura Drawbaugh. The construction project manager was Rock Massillion.

Kovacs Mihaly (1724-1779), also known as Michael Fabrizy de Kovats, earned his place in U.S. history by commanding American cavalry forces in the Revolutionary War. After successfully leading troops in Hungary's Pugachev revolution of 1772-1774, de Kovats went to France. He met with Benjamin Franklin, who was then stationed in Paris seeking aid for the American Revolutionary effort, and enlisted in the cause.

Born in Karcag, Hungary, the nobleman had years of commanding experience in the Royal Austro-Hungarian Cavalry, the Prussian Cavalry of Frederick the Great and in France. Upon his arrival in the U.S. in 1777, Congress awarded de Kovats American citizenship and appointed him Colonel-Commander of the Pulaski Legion, commissioning him to form the first U.S. light cavalry.

GO GREEN! ECO TIP OF THE DAY

Before doing house or office repairs check to see if you can receive a tax credit. It's possible to receive tax credits for fixing windows, doors, roofs, water heaters, installing insulation, HVAC, or Biomass stoves.

To find out if you qualify go to: http://www.energystar.gov/taxcredits

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can."

Paul Tournier
(1898 - 1986)

On October 30, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Deputy Bronx Borough President Aurelia Greene, Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo, Assembly Member Marcos Crespo, Community Board 2 District Manager John Robert, Alexie Torres-Fleming, Executive Director of Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, and Bronx River Alliance chairperson Joan Byron to cut the ribbon on Concrete Plant Park, situated along the western shore of the Bronx River between Westchester Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard. Community members from Hunts Point and Longwood and students from C.S. 211 and Fanny Lou Hamer Freedom High School also attended the event.

The seven-acre park, New York City's newest waterfront public space, is the latest link to be developed as part of the Bronx River Greenway. A reclamation of a former industrial wasteland, it now includes a multi-use recreational path for running, cycling, and rollerblading, and is a model for 21st century vision in parks across the country.

"From its bold architecture to its waterfront recreational amenities, Concrete Plant Park is a prime example of urban planning and adaptive re-use at its most innovative," said Commissioner Benepe. "The transformation of this former working concrete plant into a striking new park is a testament to the hard work and dedication of community activists working in partnership with government to reclaim the Bronx River and its waterfront."

The new park features a waterfront promenade, kayak/canoe launch, green lawns, a reading circle, native tidal wetland plantings, landscaping, and established park entrances at Westchester Avenue and the Bruckner Boulevard. Silos from the old concrete plant remain as sculptural elements and reminders of the site's past. Funding for the $11.4 million project was provided by Mayor Bloomberg ($6.3 million), a federal grant secured by Congressman JosE. Serrano ($3.9 million), mitigation funds from the construction of the Croton Water Filtration Plant through the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and the Municipal Water Finance Authority ($592,000), Bronx Borough President ($540,000), and a grant from the Recreational Trails Program of the NY State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation ($100,000).

Concrete Plant Park's Project Designer was James Mituzas, the in-house landscape design team consisted of Landscape Architects Rita Coelho, Ruby Wei, Vasant Gholkar, John Deitz, and the Resident Engineer was Manuel Elkin. The contractor was Galvin Brothers.

Concrete Plant Park is the latest link to be developed along the Bronx River Greenway, A ribbon of multi-use pathway linked by waterfront parks. When complete, the Bronx River Greenway will span 23 miles and extend the full length of the Bronx River, from Westchester County through the Bronx to the East River. Parks and its non-profit partner the Bronx River Alliance are working to complete the New York City portion of the greenway. Approximately 6.5 miles of New York City's portion of the greenway are currently in place with the full portion anticipated to be completed within the next five years.

To date, over $150 million allocated by local, state, and federal sources has been dedicated to the creation of the Bronx River Greenway, including over $40 million which has already been invested to build new parks along the Bronx River, such as Concrete Plant Park and Hunts Point Riverside Park (the recipient of a Rudy Bruner award), and renovate existing parks along the river such as the Bronx River Forest and Bronx Park East. Parks is in the midst of developing the next link of the Bronx River Greenway at Starlight Park, which is located just north of Concrete Plant Park.

The site of Concrete Plant Park served as a concrete mixing plant which operated from the late 1940s through 1987. After the community, led by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, advocated in 1999 to secure the site as parkland and develop it as part of the Bronx River Greenway, the City acquired the site in 2000. Parks then collaborated with community groups to design the park. The developed park now offers enhanced amenities to support the on-going environmental education programs offered to the community by the Bronx River Alliance and several of its partner groups.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"You get the best out of others when you get the best out of yourself."

Harvey S. Firestone
(1868 - 1938)

He was charged with a felony count of criminal possession of stolen property in the 4th degree for the credit cards, criminal impersonation, and criminal possession of stolen property in the 5th degree for the cell phone, and trespassing for being in the park after hours. After processing at the precinct he was transported at central booking to be lodged until his arraignment.

***

On October 25 at approximately 5:20 p.m., while on a routine mobile patrol of parks in the district 10 area of the Bronx, Sergeant Marlena Giga and Officer Michael Phillips were in an unmarked vehicle inside Wilkinson Park while Officers Darlene Lewis and William Guzman were in a nearby marked PEP vehicle. Sergeant Giga and Officer Phillips noticed two youths at the handball courts acting suspiciously. As the officers exited their vehicle to approach the youths, they noticed they were writing their "tags" on a park bench with orange markers. As the officers moved in to make an arrest, they saw one of the youths throw a plastic bag onto the ground, which contained what appeared to be marijuana inside.

The two youths were transported to the 45th Precinct where they were charged with Making Graffiti, possession of graffiti instruments, and criminal possession of marijuana and criminal mischief in the 4th degree. Photos of the damage were taken as evidence and the marijuana and markers were also held at the precinct as evidence.

The youths were charged as adults and taken to central booking. When contacted about the crimes, the parents of the individuals said they hoped that this situation would teach their children a lesson.

Submitted by Robert Reeves

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure."

Segal's Law

It's that time of year again: birds of all types are flying south for the winter. Join one of our guided tours and see what you can spot.

The famous ice skating rink at Bryant Park is opening for the season on Friday, and to celebrate there will be music, ice skating performances and much more! Watch the festivities, or drop by later in the week to try out your own moves on the ice.

Comic Relief: New York's History in Funny Pages and Capes
11:00 a.m.
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn

Artist Talk with Mel Kendrick
11:00 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Madison Square Park, Manhattan

Wildlife Weekend
11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Queens Farm Museum, Queens

Crotona Park Fall Harvest Festival
12:00 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.
Crotona Park, Bronx

Fall Spirits and Spirits
4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Conference House Park, Staten Island

Brooklyn Streetcar Artist Group Presents: Nature Art Show
11:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Marine Park, Brooklyn

Nature Photography Series: Autumn Leaves
1:00 p.m.
Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx

Raptormania in the Greenbelt!
1:00 p.m.
Greenbelt Nature Center, Staten Island

Scale the Walls of Morningside
1:00 p.m.
Morningside Park, Manhattan

Denizens of the Dark
6:00 p.m.
Cunningham Park, Queens

As the virtual face of Parks, our website has been greatly improved and redesigned. New Media launched the BeFitNYC search engine last year to help the public find specific activities, sports programs, or facilities for their age group and neighborhood. New Media also introduced "mini-websites" for over 120 individual flagship parks with features specific to each park, and created new sites for Partnerships for Parks, GreenThumb, Marinas, the Greenbelt Native Plant Center and many others programs and partners.

The public can now sign up for weekly newsletters, Daily Plants, and other regular electronic updates from Parks. As importantly, kids can sign on to ParKidsNYC, a creative new offering for youth with features such as Citizen Science and nature related games. As visited as any flagship park or special event, our website, thanks to New Media, has become a place to be.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Life is the art of drawing without an eraser."

John Gardner
(1912 - 2002)

New York City Parks staff, including Assistant Commissioner for Forestry, Horticulture & Natural Resources Fiona Watt, took the delegation to a mixture of urban forest sites over the course of the day. They learned about New York City's reforestation and invasive species management programs while hiking in Alley Pond Park in Queens, and then visited two greenstreets sites in the borough. One of the greenstreets is a demonstration site for New York City's storm water mitigation initiative, in which water is physically channeled into the planting bed and then assessed by a system of solar powered water monitoring spikes.

The delegation also viewed a street tree planting site in Flushing, Queens (the heart of New York City's Chinatown) where they were especially interested in the costs of planting street trees and the methods employed for irrigation, including tree gator bags. After lunch in Flushing at a Chinese restaurant, the teams gathered for presentations about urban forestry in New York City and in Beijing. New York City Parks is fortunate to have two foresters fluent in Mandarin Chinese who were able to describe City programs to their Chinese colleagues without the help of the translator to cap what was a truly valuable cultural and professional day of exchange.

Submitted by Fiona Watt

GO GREEN! ECO TIP OF THE DAY

It's almost the holidays and now you can string up energy-effective lights on your house. Make sure the lights are an energy star approved product. Many decorative lights are made with led technology, which will last much longer than old lights and consume less energy.

www.energystar.gov

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"Nature provides exceptions to every rule."

Margaret Fuller
(1810 - 1850)