18 may C R Y D E R P O I N T HOME GROWN ADVENTURE Alley Pond Park Adventure Course now open BY MELISSA CHAN Queens rope climbers and zip liners can find a free adventure without leaving the borough. The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course, the only course of its kind in the city, reopened for its seventh season on May 1. The venue boasts a zip line, a climbing wall, a trust fall station, swings and balance platforms. It also has ropes courses that promote team building and problem solving skills through physically and intellectually demanding situations. “The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course allows park visitors to zip through the tree tops and balance among the branches, all without leaving New York City,” said Parks Commissioner Veronica White. “It is part of a new generation of park designs, where people of all ages can challenge themselves and get fit.” The ropes course, which features 45 foot cables in some areas, incurred about $17,000 in damages from Sandy-felled trees, a spokesperson for the city’s Parks Department said. 18 cryder point courier | may 2013 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM Repairs were paid for by Project Adventure, the course’s construction company, and the adventure course reopened on schedule, the spokesperson added. The free course is open every Sunday until November with classes at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., depending on the weather. Registration is only required in July and August. HARRINGTON TO STEP DOWN Scandal rocked St. John’s president’s tenure BY TERENCE M. CULLEN St. John’s University’s longtime president will retire this summer, according to an internal memo to the school. Father Donald J. Harrington said in a letter to the school’s community that he plans to end his tenure effective July 31. Harrington, who took over at St. John’s in 1989, has been embroiled in a series of investigations by both federal authorities and the university’s board of trustees. Federal complaints allege he received lavish gifts from Cecilia Chang, a former St. John’s dean. She was charged with stealing money from the school, but committed suicide during her trial. In his memo, Harrington made oblique reference to the probes. “Nonetheless, for quite a while, I have been thinking about when would be the best time to relinquish the leadership role to younger, perhaps more energetic, individuals,” he wrote. “The urgings of many members of the board of trustees and others persuaded me to remain longer than I had originally planned. But the difficulties for everyone during the past year have convinced me, after much prayer and reflection, that the time to leave the presidency has now come.” Harrington reportedly took expensive trips to the Caribbean along with his chief of staff, Robert Wile, and Wile’s current wife, who was his girlfriend and student at the time. Wile also reportedly took out thousands of dollars in loans from school trustees and is stepping down. NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who graduated from St. John’s Law School, issued a statement commending Harrington for his nearly 24 years of service to the school. “Over the last quarter of a century,” he said, “Farther Harrington transformed St. John’s from a really good university to a great one. As an alumnus of its law school, I’ve witnessed with pride as Father Harrington strengthened St. John’s academically and physically with new facilities and buildings, while holding fast to the Vincentian mission that has drawn so many of the University’s alumni to public service.” Peter D’Angelo, chair of the school’s board of trustees, issued a statement to the university praising the school’s growth under Harrington’s management. “The tenure of Father Harrington as president has been a period of unrivaled growth, expansion and achievement for our University,” he said. “He has been a transformative leader who guided this institution, nurtured its community, cultivated excellence and generated unprecedented levels of enthusiasm and support. At the same time, the University he departs has remained dedicated to service and education, prime components of our mission since St. John’s was founded 143 years ago.” Father Donald J. Harrington Photo by Daniel Avila/NYC Parks The Alley Pond Park Adventure Course is open every Sunday until November.
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