Residents beautify Canarsie
Park on citywide cleanup day
By Tangerine Clarke
Oct. 17, was a sunny autumn
day, befitting an environmental
drive that brought out volunteers
in Canarsie, Brooklyn, to
participate in a civic engagement
to help cleanup, beautify,
and maintain NYC’s open spaces
— It’s My Park initiative.
Children joined parents to
rake leaves and planted, daffodil
bulbs in Canarsie Park, in a
partnership with New Yorkers
for Parks, Partnerships for Parks
and NYC Parks, in support of
over 60 parks partner organizations,
community and conservancies,
for the day of service.
Jennifer Horsford, community
organizer aide in the office
of Senator Roxanne Persaud,
thanked volunteers for helping
to maintain the green space,
noting that due to COVID-19,
the park has become an extension
of the home, where family
events are now being held.
The partnership with NYC
Parks gave kids an opportunity
to clean and beautify the environment,
said Horsford, who
headed a team that included,
Sen. Persaud’s Chief of Staff,
Maylene Thurton, Yolaine
Ridore of the 69th Precinct
Community Council, Canarsie
Cycle of Resilience Street Team,
Clover Dewar, Eudene Mason,
representatives from the office
Caribbean L 8 ife, October 23-29, 2020
of Assemblymember, Jamie D.
Williams, and other volunteers.
“I believe it is good to clean
and beautify our parks,” she
said, noting that many of the
volunteers were children who
helped to plant 300 daffodils
bulbs for a colorful bloom in the
spring time.”
The goal, she said, was to
get the little ones in the habit
of keeping their environment
clean.
Eagerness by residents to
keep their environment clean,
has led to ongoing programs to
deal with dumping of garbage,
that had also caught the eye of
Cory Galloway, managing partner
of Brooklyn Athletic Club in
Canarsie, who came out to support
the cleanup effort.
“I hope we are sending a message
to the community that we
love our park and we want a
beautify it. Someone fights for
this green space, so we have to
show our appreciation and pay
it forward,” said Horsford.
New York City Department
of Parks & Recreation Volunteer
From left: New York City Department of Parks & Recreation
volunteer projects manager Yekaterina Gluzberg,
Jennifer Horsford, community organizer, and aide in the offi
ce of Senator Roxanne Persaud, with volunteers in Canarsie
Park, after a civic engagement to help cleanup, beautify,
and maintain NYC’s open spaces, “It’s My Park initiative.”
Photo by Tangerine Clarke
Projects Manager, Yekaterina
Gluzberg, who provided
resources and oversaw the titled
“Dig In — It’s My Park” initiative,
said with the lost of 1700
workers due to the coronavirus,
volunteers are needed more
than ever.
“Volunteers, like Jennifer,
come to us, and we provide
them with the tools and techniques
to help them shape the
community the way they want
it to be,” she said, adding that
the parks are spaces of “well-being
and wildlife, that share city
parks with us, so it’s important
to keep them clean.”
“Each of us can take responsibility
and pride in keeping our
streets clean by putting trash
in bins to be picked up by the
sanitation department. We have
to take that extra step. It is critical,”
said Gluzberg who provided
rakes, trowels, and flowering
bulbs to beautify the park.
According to the Parks
Department, since the start of
the COVID-19 pandemic, these
spaces have become the center
of life in NYC, serving an essential
role as critical city infrastructure.
Seven-year-old Aiden, is being
taught how to plant a
daffodil bulb, one of many
that will help to beautify
Canarsie Park in the spring.
Photo by Tangerine Clarke
October is Breast Cancer
Awareness Month
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most
commonly diagnosed cancer among African-American women, with
an estimated 33,840 new cases diagnosed in 2019 alone.
Monthly Breast self-exams, annual doctor’s exam, and a mammogram
are your best bet for catching breast cancer in its earliest stages.
With awareness there is HOPE!
Let’s overcome through courage and strength.
PAID FOR BY CLARKE FOR CONGRESS
Yvette D. Clarke
Congresswoman
NY 9th District: Brooklyn