2 OCTOBER 21, 2021 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Mafera Park gets $500K in state funding for renovations
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Aft er residents volunteered to
clean up Mafera Park this past
Saturday, elected offi cials announced
that $500,000 in state funds
would be allocated to the local park for
needed renovations.
Around 30 people helped plant
daff odil bulbs and clean up trash in
the local park located at 65th Place
and Shaler Avenue. The nonprofit
New Yorkers for Parks donated 1,200
bulbs as part of its Daff odil Project to
remember the victims of 9/11.
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi also
helped the cleanup along with the NYC
Parks Department, which donated
gardening supplies.
The cleanup eff ort was organized
by the community group Friends of
Mafera Park, which has been ardently
advocating for funding to renovate the
park.
“Mafera Park has the potential to
be one of the premier parks in New
York City,” Hevesi said. “It has not
received the attention it deserves, but
the partnership between the Parks
Department, Friends of Mafera Park,
our colleagues in government and our
neighbors is a great start.”
Friends of Mafera Park was created
in 2016 to get funding for necessary
renovations like a new turf field,
playground equipment and a dog park.
Recently, the group has been receiving
attention from elected offi cials like
Hevesi, Councilman Robert Holden
and state Senator Joseph Addabbo.
“It is great to see a community playground
receive the resources necessary
to keep it a safe and fun-fi lled
place for residents of all ages to gather,”
Addabbo said. “Mafera Park was in
need of restorations, and because the
residents spoke out and were heard by
their local electeds, $500,000 in state
funding to reconstruct the park for
the betterment of the entire community
has been allocated. I look forward
to when the renovations get underway
and we can give the community a
brand new park to visit.”
Hevesi said that now the local elected
offi cials will work with residents
and the Parks Department to decide
how to spend the funding.
Linda Byszynski, the leader of
Friends of Mafera, said that this funding
was a long time coming for the park
and for her neighborhood.
“What has really been wonderful
about it is having this grow and bloom.
More and more local residents are
coming out and showing support,”
Byszynski said. “I’m glad that the
process is starting to secure funding.”
Byszynski said that the group is also
considering hosting concerts in the
5.4-acre park. The park has baseball
fi elds, playgrounds, basketball courts,
roller hockey and handball courts.
Hevesi said he will look to prioritize
the fi elds as renovations are planned.
“We will work with Friends of
Mafera and our neighbors to make decisions
about the renovations, but we
know the turf fi eld must be resurfaced,
which is a signifi cant problem because
local schools cannot use the location
for sports events at the moment and
the playground is also outdated,”
Hevesi said.
Holden met with Friends of Mafera
Park in June when he said he would
help secure funds for renovations.
“Our parks are vital to our city
and I’m happy to hear that my state
colleagues are contributing funds
to Mafera Park,” Holden said. “I will
continue to work with the NYC Parks
Department to help give this park the
facelift it deserves.”
Residents plant daff odil bulbs around Mafera Park.
Courtesy of Assembylman Hevesi’s offi ce
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