Thursday, November 1, 2012

Parks Department Seeking Volunteers To Help Clean Up After Hurricane Sandy





























Prospect Park - one of the 11 parks and playgrounds the Parks Department is seeking assistance from the public in helping to clean up after the devastating hurricane. (Photo: Rob Jett)

City-Wide

By Geoffrey Croft


As recovery efforts are under way the city and other park groups are seeking the public's help. 

The city lost tens of thousands of trees throughout the five boroughs, and the parks remain closed.

The Parks Department is seeking assistance to help clean up 11 parks and playgrounds after the devastating hurricane. The sites - listed below - include locations in four boroughs.  More are expected to be announced including locations in Staten Island according the Parks Department.

A park site in Brooklyn is collecting aid for Far Rockaways and Sunset Park communities.


Today from 1 to 3pm, donations of food, baby supplies, flashlights, cleaning supplies, etc., will be accepted at the corner of Fort Greene Park at Dekalb and Washington Park. Donations will go to those in need in the Far Rockaways and Sunset Park. Volunteers are also needed for this afternoon. If you have any questions or want to help, contact Ruth Ballenzweig at ruth.ballenzweig@gmail.com.

Solar One and Stuyvesant Cove Park located on the East River near near Stuy Town sent out a request for help.

According to the group the park sustained major damage during the storm along the East River.  There was extensive damage to the Solar One building and park.  Dozens of trees are down and the gardens and topsoil have been washed away.  The storage facility at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village is flooded and under water.  

They are looking for volunteers to help in the park this week to aid with all clean-up efforts. Our urgent need for volunteer help is for this Friday, November 2 and Saturday, November 3 from 10am-4pm. Please RSVP to dina@solar1.org so we'll know you're coming! ​

Hudson River Park Trust is seeking volunteers this Friday, November 2nd and Saturday, November 10th.

The entire park remains closed while they document conditions and ensure park users' safety. Some pier finishes and decks - such as Pier 25, the Pier 40 fields, and Piers 46, 54 and 84 - experienced extensive damage. Trees stood their ground, but plant beds lost almost all of their mulch and much of their top soil.

Dry Ice

Free dry ice is being distributed at the entraces of two parks - Union Square -14th Street and Union Sq. West, and Fresh Kill Park on Buffalo Street in Staten Island.

Parks Remain Closed

According to the latest from the Parks Department, crews are out assessing every park and playground and will open them as soon as inspections confirm they are safe.  The agency should begin to have stats by end of day.  

Here is the latest from this morning regarding trees:

Forestry:

As of 9am:
•     Forestry crews are focused on addressing blocked streets and other trees down.  The latest report shows 12,663 service requests citywide, with the most in Queens at over 6,500.

REQUEST SUMMARY REPORT
Borough     Total
Bronx       984  
Brooklyn    3216 
Manhattan   397  
Queens      6571 
Staten Is   1495 
Citywide    12663

As of 10am:

The total for storm-related service requests is 12,778; of these requests, 8,217 are for Trees Down.



Randall's Island - artifcial turf soccer field. (Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates)

Volunteer Opportunities

Many of New York City’s parks and playgrounds were impacted by Hurricane Sandy. If you would like to volunteer with NYC Parks to aid in clean up and recovery, please review the list of parks and playgrounds below that are in need of assistance this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Click the links below to sign up in your borough and be sure to check back for updates on other parks in need of volunteers! 

Bronx
Van Cortlandt Park
Orchard Beach            
Click here to volunteer in the Bronx 
Brooklyn
Prospect Park
McCarren Park
Click here to volunteer in Brooklyn
Manhattan
Happy Warrior Playground 
Annunciation Park
Carl Schurz Park
Anne Loftus Playground (at Fort Tryon Park)
Randall’s Island (Friday and Saturday only)
Click here to volunteer in Manhattan
Queens (Friday and Saturday only)
Brookville Park
Baisley Pond Park
Click here to volunteer in Queens

Read More:

A Walk In The Park - October 31, 2012 


A Walk In The Park - October 31, 2012 

A Walk In The Park - October 29, 2012 



Randall's Island - One of the 11 parks the city is seeking assistance from in helping to clean up.

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, so the parks and the police departments can use staff for the marathon.

    ReplyDelete