Phase II of St. Mary’s Park renovations
Commissioner to Commissioner:
Connecting veterans to City services
In New York City, 72% of NYC veterans
are 55 and over. During National Veterans
and Military Families Month, it’s important
to connect these men and women of honor
to services and support systems that allow
them to age with ease in the communities
they served.
As Commissioner of the New York
City Department for the Aging (DFTA),
I sat down with the newly appointed
Commissioner of the New York City
Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS),
U.S. Army Reserves Lieutenant Colonel
James Hendon, to talk about the services
he thinks all veterans, and particularly
vulnerable veterans, should to know about.
Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez:
Welcome to New York City government,
Commissioner Hendon! I hear this is your
third week on the job. I’d love to have you
tell us a little about DVS.
Commissioner Hendon: I’d be happy
to! DVS was established in 2016 and is the
nation’s first local city agency for veterans.
Though we are still new, we already serve
27,000 service members, veterans, and their
families in New York City and are rapidly
expanding. For our older veterans, what
DFTA services would you recommend?
Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez: I’m
glad you ask because many veterans may
not know about DFTA. We provide services
for New Yorkers age 60 and older. Some
services include centers in the community
for older adults, home-delivered meals, casemanagement
assistance, mental health care
and friendly visiting services — and even
resources for older adults caring for children.
Friendly visiting, a service that connects
homebound older adults with volunteers
for weekly visiting, helps homebound older
adults avoid social isolation. Centers in
the community provide hubs for activities,
meals and socialization. At many centers,
mental health clinicians provide free mental
health services through our ThriveNYC
Geriatric Mental Health program.
Commissioner Hendon: More than half
of our veterans in shelters are older adults.
Local centers are essential communityspaces
for these veterans, especially during
extreme temperatures in the summer and
winter. How do you become a member of
a DFTA center?
Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez: Centers
in the community can really become your
second home, and we hear that frequently
from members. Becoming a member of a
center is free and easy. Older adults just
need to visit their local center and sign up.
Plus, centers can help members connect to
other City resources.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, N 30 OVEMBER 17-28, 2019 BTR
We understand that older veterans
have unique needs, including coping
with social isolation after rejoining their
communities and finding accessible
mental health care.
Commissioner Hendon: It’s so
important that we support the well-being
of veterans who have been through so
much. We recently announced a holistic
plan to provide mental health services to
veterans, including a peer-to-peer support
program and legal services to help veterans
challenge their discharge status – especially
LGBTQIA+ veterans who received “less
than honorable” discharges because of
their orientation, gender identity or mental
health challenges.
Speaking of resources, I’d love for New
Yorkers to know about VetConnectNYC.
org, our portal that helps veterans find
services in their communities. Not only
does it provide resources and connections
for veterans, it also assists professionals
helping veterans.
Commissioner Cortés-Vázquez: That’s
wonderful! I look forward to working
together to help older veterans receive the
services they need and deserve in this City.
If you’d like more information about
DFTA or DVS services, call 311 or visit
nyc.gov/aging or nyc.gov/veterans.
Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez
is commissioner of the New York
City Department for the Aging.
Prior to joining the de Blasio
administration, she served in
executive leadership roles with
AARP, EmblemHealth and
other organizations. She also
served as New York’s first Latina
Secretary of State.
BY KYLE VUILLE
The largest park in the south
Bronx, St. Mary’s Park, has
now entered the second phase
of its $19.6 million facelift as of
Thursday, November 7.
Those in attendance for the
ground breaking of phase two
included NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver, Community
Board 1 district manager
Cedric Loftin and third-graders
from the Heketi Community
Charter School.
The second portion of improvements
to the 35-acre park
involves the landscape between
St. Anns Avenue and East 143rd
Street, and includes a renovation
of the amphitheater as
well as the street plaza and its
seating accommodations.
Additional improvements
will be made throughout the
park such as reconfi guring
walkways, adding security
lighting, increasing handicap
accessibility and planting various
vegetation.
Plans and funding for the
park’s revitalization stemmed
from the Anchor Parks Initiative
approved by Mayor de Blasio
in 2016. St Mary’s Park is
one of fi ve parks in NYC allot-
ted $150 million for improvements.
“With phase one already
underway, we are very excited
to break ground on phase two
of the Anchor Parks project at
St. Mary’s Park, bringing even
more upgrades to this much
loved neighborhood park,” said
Commissioner Silver.
“Thanks to over $19 million
from Mayor de Blasio for the
second phase of the project, the
renovated St. Mary’s Park will
truly have something for everyone
from a performance area
and dog run, to wheelchair accessible
paths and turf fi elds,
and more.” he added.
Cause For Concern
While renovations are underway,
some residents like Logan
Powell are not so pleased
with the timeline of the process.
Powell asked how could
the city start on phase two if
phase one is not complete yet.
“Lots of people have dogs
around here and now most of
the park is closed,” Powell said,
who is a dog owner himself.
Powell also said he understands
the need for revamping
the park, but it is not solving
the problem of people using
drugs in the park.
Another local resident,
57-year-old Evelon Chevere,
said she’s been coming to St.
Mary’s Park since she was a
child and even brought her
kids to the park as they were
growing up.
Chevere shared similar
concerns as Powell about rampant
drug use in the park, but
thinks the changes to the park
will alleviate the issue.
Chevere added she has a
seen a more frequent police
presence around the park as
well as park offi cials making
rounds to pick up syringes and
expects those cleanup efforts to
continue.
She remained optimistic
about the improvements, specifi
cally pointing out how the
park’s landscaping continues
to look better and better as well
as the new playground.
“In the summertime, it’ll be
a nice place to lay out a blanket
and enjoy the park,” Chevere
said. “The playgrounds are
great too because they’re safe
and clean now.”
The park’s renovation is
projected to be completed by
September 2021.
However, local residents
and law enforcement will have
to handle the ever-present issue
of drug users in the park.
NYC Parks commissioner Mitchell J. Silver (c) along with local elected offi cials, community members and children
from the Heketi Community Charter School, break ground in preparation for a long overdue renovation of
St. Mary’s Park. Photo by Silvio Pacifi co
/aging
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