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QUEENS WEEKLY, JANUARY 5, 2020
Queens County Farm Museum Executive Director Jennifer
Walden Weprin (second from right) and Farm Store Assistant
Jessica Arroyo (center) present the museum’s inaugural
donation of packaged, nonperishable food items to
Queens College representatives in support of the school’s
Knights Table Food Pantry, on Tuesday, December 17.
Photo courtesy of Queens College
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Nothing says holiday
like a helping hand.
Queens County Farm
Museum presented an
inaugural donation of
packaged, non-perishable
food items to Queens College
representatives in
support of the school’s
Knights Table Food Pantry,
established in fall
2018 supporting over 1,000
food-insecure students to
date.
Knight’s Table Food
Pantry board member Anthony
Ogata; Vice President
for Communications
and Marketing and Senior
Advisor to the President
Jay Hershenson; and Executive
Assistant to the
VP for Communications
and Marketing Shanequa
Terry accepted the items
during a visit to the
museum on Dec. 17.
Jennifer Walden Weprin,
executive director
of Queens County Farm
Museum, said, “Together,
Queens Farm and Queens
College can feed tummies
and feed minds.”
“We initiated this food
drive after our growing
season ended as a way to
continue our work to feed
New Yorkers,” Weprin
said. “We are thankful for
the community support
and have collected food
donations as diverse as
the borough of Queens!”
Throughout the month
of December, the farm
is encouraging visitors,
neighbors, and the public
to drop off packaged,
nonperishable foods to
the farm store, at 73-50
Little Neck Pkwy., which
is open daily from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m.
The Knight’s Table
Food Pantry, the first
comprehensive program
in country to help fight
student hunger, provides
stigma-free food access
for students in need and
accepts donations from
the campus community. It
is sponsored by the Office
of Student Development
and Leadership.
Students interested in
donating or volunteering
are welcomed to stop
by the Student Union, at
LL29 between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m., Monday through
Friday during the
academic year.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260–4526.
Alley Pond on the move
Environmental Center announces temporary home in Oakland Gardens
Alley Pond Environmental Center’s building on Northern Boulevard. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
BY JENNA BAGCAL
The Alley Pond Environmental
Center (APEC)
is getting a temporary
home in Oakland Gardens
as work on their brand
new center begins.
The nonprofit began
the moving process tis
past weekend into 224-
75 76th Ave., which will
serve as its facilities for
the next two years. The
temporary center is located
at the eastern end
of the parking lot near
Springfield Boulevard in
Alley Pond Park.
NYC Parks is currently
working on plans for the
APEC building on Northern
Boulevard, which will
include efficient heating,
cooling and electrical
systems as well as other
updated facilities. Parks
also plans to expand the
current space, allowing
the nonprofit to host more
classes and events.
Guests can visit the
new center beginning
Jan. 2 and the APEC will
host a grand opening and
open house on Saturday,
Jan. 11.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
the center will treat visitors
to a day of fun and
free activities for all ages.
Guests can interact with
APEC’s animals, engage
in arts and crafts, listen
to music and munch on
healthy refreshments
during the center’s “Welcome
to the Neighborhood”
celebration.
In 1972, NYC Parks
partnered with grassroots
organizers to develop
APEC following a
new understanding of
the importance of wetlands.
In 1974, the Parks
Department created the
Wetlands Reclamation
Project to rehabilitate the
park’s wetlands which
had suffered decades of
construction dumping
and neglect.
APEC moved into its
Northern Boulevard location
in 1976 and has maintained
the same location
for over 40 years. Today,
the environmental education
organization educates
children and adults,
protects and preserves
Alley Pond Park and advocates
for sustainable
policies and practices.
Its home in Alley Pond
Park contains over 635
acres of forests, meadows,
ponds and fresh and
saltwater marshes. More
than 300 species of birds
and other wildlife call the
park home.
During its transition,
APEC employees
remind the community
that response times may
be delayed as they may
be without telephone and
computer access for a period
of time. For updates,
alleypond.com or APEC’s
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
pages.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2583.
Queens County Farm
donates food items
to Queens College
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/alleypond.com
/qns.com
