14 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 21, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com Astoria Park Alliance hosts It’s My Park Day BY ALINA SURIEL [email protected] @alinangelica The Astoria Park Alliance hosted their community’s It’s My Park Day on May 17, and talked to local parents about what upgrades they would like to see in Charybdis Playground. One of the biggest focuses of this year’s It’s My Park Day at Astoria Park was increasing support for a possible expansion of the playground and ascertaining which aspects of the park are most in need of upgrading. Parents were invited to rank their choices for possible upgrades on a vision board with multiple categories that had options for park activities and programming, playground equipment, safety features and amenities. Many parents expressed specific concerns about the restrooms at Charybdis Playground, saying that they can usually be found locked or too dirty to use. Anthony Liberatoscioli, a volunteer with the Astoria Park Alliance who uses the park with his 4-year-old daughter, said that he wants to see the playground grow as Astoria becomes more and more popular for growing families. “More and more families are coming to Astoria. They really need a place to come,” said Liberatoscioli. Martha Lopez-Gilpin, co-chair of the Astoria Park Alliance, stressed that it was especially important to educate parents on the capital budgeting process through which city projects get funded, and how this affects the advocated park expansion. According to Lopez-Gilpin, it could take anywhere from three to fi ve years for the project to see fruition, and several million dollars. “It is hard to be patient, but it’s important that we go through this process well because we want to have the best playground possible,” said Gilpin. Educational activities were also provided for children during It’s My Park Day, and each proved to be a hit with local tykes of all ages. A large group continuously colored and scribbled on an outline drawing provided by Charles Basman of Arthouse Astoria, a local conservatory that offers music and painting classes at an affordable rate. Volunteers also were teaching how to transplant and care for small fl owering plants which the children were able to take home to keep. Councilman Costa Constantinides said that the event was an important outlet for residents to share their input on their experiences with the park and what improvements need to be made. “Having days like this is so important,” Constantinides said. “It’s giving residents of this neighborhood an opportunity to talk about what they want for their park.” The It’s My Park program is a citywide, year-round initiative organized by the City Parks Foundation, a nonprofi t that creates programs in parks throughout all fi ve boroughs of New York City. The It’s My Park program engages over 400 groups annually in hands-on service projects and events, including cleaning up litter in parks, raking leaves and painting benches. Service projects also often feature free, family-oriented activities such as tennis lessons, face painting and historic house tours. THE COURIER/Photo by Alina Suriel Demetrios Argyros, 2, enjoys the coloring activity at the Astoria Park Alliance’s It’s My Park Day. Great rates like ours are always in season. 24-Month CD 1.25%APY* At Flushing Bank, we’re small enough to know you and large enough to provide you with the great rates you’re looking for. Hurry, an offer like this can’t last forever. For more information and to find out about our other great offers, visit your local Flushing Bank branch, call 800.581.2889 or visit www.FlushingBank.com. $5,000 minimum deposit *New money only. APY effective April 2, 2015. Annual percentage yield assumes principal and interest remain on deposit for a full year at current rate. Minimum deposit balance of $5,000 is required. Funds cannot be transferred from an existing Flushing Bank account. Premature withdrawals may be subject to bank and IRS penalties. Rates and offer are subject to change without notice. Flushing Bank is a registered trademark
QC05212015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above