6 OCTOBER 31, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Flower planters installed on Woodhaven
Boulevard for protection and ambiance
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
On Woodhaven Boulevard, flowers
serve a greater purpose than
mere eye candy. They save lives and
revitalize businesses.
On Monday, Oct. 28, Councilman
Eric Ulrich revealed his collaborative
project with the Department of
Transportation, the Woodhaven BID
and the Queens Botanical Garden in
Woodhaven to install 15 barrel-sized
planters along the pedestrian crossings
near the Woodhaven Boulevard
J train station.
The agencies are installing the
project months after a man was
struck and killed by a motorist less
than a half a mile south on Woodhaven
Boulevard in July. Ulrich is
hoping that the planters fulfill two
roles: to make walkers feel safer and
encourage them to shop along the
transit hub. The bright eggplantcolored
planters highlight the borders
of pedestrian refuge islands
separating the boulevard’s car and
bus lanes.
“I love this vase. It just pops. It really
stands out from the grays of the
everything around it,” Ulrich said
while admiring the flowers.
Raquel Olivares, the executive
director at the Woodhaven
BID, is hoping that new flowers
will create an ambiance that will
encourage foot traffic along
Jamaica Boulevard.
Ulrich’s office provided $40,000
to complete the project. The Queens
Botanical Garden, which is in charge
of setting up the planters and watering
them for the first year, said that
12 to 13 will be completed by the end
of the week, and the last couple will
be added in the spring.
“This is a council member that
loves plants. He loves people, plants
and community,” Susan Lacerte, the
executive director of the Queens
Botanical Garden, said of Ulrich.
Beyond its practical purposes, the
project also revealed that Ulrich has
a green thumb.
The councilman said that he inherited
a love of gardening from his
grandmother and added that he tends
to the tree and flowers in front of his
office. “I’m very protective of plants
in New York City,” said Ulrich.
The new planters will hold a
combination of shrubs and flowers
including dogwood and lilac and
perennials like geraniums, lady’s
mantle and creeping jenny. Carlos
Espinal, the Botanical Garden coordinator
in charge of the projects, said
that he was looking to bring color to
the neighborhood while working
with hardy plants that wouldn’t need
to be replaced.
“I think when people drive past
these planters, they’re going to
smile,” said Ulrich.
Offi cials pose with one of the new Woodhaven Boulevard planters.
Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
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