JULY 11
C RY D E R
P O I N T
Work to rehab Queens baseball fields
continues at Whitestone park
WWW.QNS.COM | JULY 2018 | CRYDER POINT COURIER 11
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
A SMONTEVERDI@QNS.COM / @SMONT76 Whitestone ballfield is ready to
welcome the next generation of
baseball players as a local effort
to revitalize the sport in the borough continues.
On June 26, an all-day rehabilitation
effort occurred at Little Bay Park, where
workers refurbished and manicured
the ballfield in the span of about six
hours. The field is the second in northeast
Queens to see renovations in recent
months in an undertaking led by Bobby
Gellert, a local businessman.
The Courier first spoke with Gellert
when he began the initiative in May,
shortly after the Whitestone native decided
he wanted to begin a project to
give back to his hometown. Gellert had
reached out to DAC Athletic Club, an organization
he belonged to as a child, and
told current executive director John Zullo
about his desire to see baseball’s position
as “America’s pastime” locally restored.
The duo quickly got to work rehabilitating
one of the two existing fields at Fort
Totten in Bayside, hoping improved conditions
at the neglected grounds would
foster an increased interest.
Taking a similar approaching to the first
Fort Totten ballfield, Zullo coordinated with
a field maintenance company, Three Guys
Maintenance, and Gellert, through his company
Shares of New York, donated the necessary
funds to renovate at Little Bay Park.
“We did this project for the same reason
as the first: to motivate kids to play
baseball,” Gellert said. “We received a lot
of feedback from the first field and then
immediately from the second field. We
continue getting really great feedback
from the community.”
This time around, the group had to coordinate
with the NYC Parks Department,
which owns the property. Gellert said representatives
at the city agency welcomed
news of the capital investment.
“NYC Parks has a need for assistance
in capital — for working on not only baseball
fields, but on other parks throughout
the city,” he said.
Plans to renovate the second Fort Totten
field, which is in the worst condition of
the three, are still in the planning stages,
as it will take the largest funding commitment.
Gellert also said he and Zullo have
identified other baseball fields throughout
Queens that need attention.
Gellert is in the process of forming “Fields
of New York,” a nonprofit organization
through which he and his company will
raise funds to further his mission to revive
baseball in the local community. The Chappaqua
resident hopes to further his mission
in Queens, Westchester and beyond.
“The thought is that the leagues around
town will use the fields, more kids will
come out, and it will sort of snowball
from there,” he said. “It’s starting to have
an impact. Everything is really starting fall
into place.” Workers and volunteers rehabilitate the Little Bay Park baseball field on June 26
Photo courtesy of Bobby Gellert
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