26 The Courier sun • MAY 19, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Shovels hit the ground for new Rochdale school playground BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAF [email protected]/@QueensCourier Parents, community activists and elected officials broke ground on a new $2.5 million playground at M.S. 72 in Rochdale Village during a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, May 10. The playground at the school — which is named for Count Basie, the famed jazz orchestra conductor, and his wife, Catherine — had been neglected for years and allowed to fall into disrepair, according to Councilman Ruben Wills. The deterioration kept families away and made the play area “a den for illicit and undesirable activity,” according to Wills’ office. “The playground at Catherine and Count Basie had been lacking in upkeep for more than a decade, and its dilapidated condition came to attract attention from negative influences,” Wills said. “The restoration of this space has been a priority of my office for the past several years, and I’m pleased to say that the void here will soon be filled by a first-rate recreational environment.” Wills and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz secured capital improvement project grants to move the improvements forward. The new M.S. 72 playground, when it opens next spring, will feature a non-toxic synthetic field within a three-lane running track; an Part of the city’s “Schoolyards to Playgrounds” program, the playground will be open to the public as a park during non-school amphitheater/outdoor classroom area; new benches and backrests; an interchangeable volleyball and basketball court; new tree plantings; and a new 7-foot-tall steel gate fence to replace the chain-link fence on the playground’s perimeter. “Because of this funding, the children and families of Rochdale will be able to enjoy a robust playground with athletic courts, track and fields and an outdoor amphitheater,” Katz said in a statement. Assemblywoman Vivian Cook also welcomed the project, noting that the school’s families have “long deserved a rich play area.” M.S. 72 Principal Omotayo Cineus thanked Wills, Katz and the many others involved in advancing the improvements. “We look forward to the future use of this new playground, which will afford the young people of Catherine and Count Basie Middle School social, emotional, athletic and academic experiences and memories,” Cineus added. 104COP celebrates 40 years in the communities The 104th Precinct Civilian Observation Patrol (104COP), formerly known as the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol (GCOP), celebrated its 40th Anniversary on Sunday, May 15, at Gottscheer Hall in Ridgewood. Elected officials such as Borough President Melinda Katz and Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley presented 104COP with citations from the city, thanking them for four decades of work to help keep the communities safe and running smoothly.
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