sports
82 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 5, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Work to rehab Queens baseball fi elds continues at Whitestone park
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Whitestone ballfi eld is ready to welcome
the next generation of baseball
players as a local eff ort to revitalize the
sport in the borough continues.
On June 26, an all-day rehabilitation
eff ort occurred at Little Bay Park,
where workers refurbished and manicured
the ballfi eld in the span of about six
hours. Th e fi eld is the second in northeast
Queens to see renovations in recent
months in an undertaking led by Bobby
Gellert, a local businessman.
Th e Courier fi rst spoke with Gellert
when he began the initiative in May,
shortly aft er the Whitestone native
decided he wanted to begin a project to
give back to his hometown. Gellert had
reached out to DAC Athletic Club, an
organization he belonged to as a child,
and told current executive director John
Zullo about his desire to see baseball’s
position as “America’s pastime” locally
restored.
Th e duo quickly got to work rehabilitating
one of the two existing fi elds at
Fort Totten in Bayside, hoping improved
conditions at the neglected grounds
would foster an increased interest.
Taking a similar approaching to the
fi rst Fort Totten ballfi eld, Zullo coordinated
with a fi eld maintenance company,
Th ree Guys Maintenance, and Gellert,
through his company Shares of New
York, donated the necessary funds to
renovate at Little Bay Park.
“We did this project for the same reason
as the fi rst: to motivate kids to play
baseball,” Gellert said. “We received a lot
of feedback from the fi rst fi eld and then
immediately from the second fi eld. We
continue getting really great feedback
from the community.”
Th is time around, the group had
to coordinate with the NYC Parks
Department, which owns the property.
Gellert said representatives at the
city agency welcomed news of the capital
investment.
“NYC Parks has a need for assistance
in capital — for working on not
only baseball fi elds, but on other parks
throughout the city,” he said.
Plans to renovate the second Fort
Totten fi eld, which is in the worst condition
of the three, are still in the planning
stages, as it will take the largest funding
commitment. Gellert also said he and
Zullo have identifi ed other baseball fi elds
throughout Queens that need attention.
Gellert is in the process of forming
“Fields of New York,” a nonprofi t organization
through which he and his company
will raise funds to further his mission
to revive baseball in the local community.
Th e Chappaqua resident hopes to further
his mission in Queens, Westchester
and beyond.
“Th e thought is that the leagues around
town will use the fi elds, more kids will
come out, and it will sort of snowball
from there,” he said. “It’s starting to have
an impact. Everything is really starting
fall into place.”
Photo courtesy of Bobby Gellert
Workers and volunteers rehabilitate the Little Bay Park baseball fi eld on June 26
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