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June 21-27, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
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Bryant high fi nally gets new fi elds
Ribbon-cutting in Long Island City for long-sought, state-of-the-art athletic complex
BY MAX PARROTT
After a rainstorm the
night before, the new stateof
the art sports complex at
William Cullen Bryant High
School in Long Island City
was put to the test for its
grand opening the following
morning, June 14.
“Today, it’s a dry field.
And that’s because there’s a
lot of gravel under here. We
designed it to absorb water,
so that’s something to think
about. We can retrofit our
city that way,” said Carter
Strickland, state director
of the Trust for Public
Land, in his address to the
student body.
Joined by the borough
president’s office and the
representatives from the trust,
the high school unveiled the
large new $3 million field that
includes regulation soccer
and softball fields.
The funding for the deal
was provided by Borough
President Melinda Katz and
facilitated by the Trust for
Public Land, an organization
which provides funding to
create parks and protect land.
It was the largest project that
the organization has worked
on to date in terms of size
and expense.
“Queens has some of
the most some of the most
overcrowded high schools,
and the borough president is
always advocating for new
schools and new extensions,
so to be able to fund a field for
a school that has over 2,000
students. It’s going to help
them in their education as
well,” said Monica Gutierrez,
the education director for
Katz, who was absent from
event, reportedly tending to a
sick child.
The plush turf field, which
will be open to the public on
the weekends, also includes
a track straightaway, batting
cages, a new scoreboard and
a fitness equipment room. As
soon as the ribbon was cut, the
assembled students ran on the
field and began taking selfies
in front the new facilities.
“I just want to stay in here,”
said senior softball player
Sophia Topalis while trying
out the new batting cages.
The field was built as the
result of advocacy on the
part of the students, parents
and school representatives,
who took their campaign for
the new field the borough
president’s parent advisory
board meetings.
“The field was in disrepair.
Kids were falling and they
were having accidents,”
said Gutierrez.
In addition to the fields,
the borough president’s office
recently allocated the funding
for brand-new lockers and new
technology at the Long Island
City school.
The Trust for Public Land
takes on a lot of projects that
involve building playgrounds
and athletic fields for public
school in the city, but the
organization also endeavors
to build other types of parks.
Strickland said that a major
project for them is Queensway,
a 3 1/2-mile stretch of the
former Rockaway Beach
branch of the Long Island Rail
Road that has been abandoned
for 60 years.
The organization wants
to reopen it as a bike and
pedestrian walkway that
would stretch over seven
subway lines.
In his speech to the
students, Strickland said that
he remembers when he played
football in high school, “it
was very hard for us to play
against some of the schools
with nicer facilities. You’re
going to intimidate some
people out there. This is great.
And more important you’re
going to have pride in what
you do.”
THE THRILL OF VICTORY
Former New York City councilman and current J.P. Morgan Chase executive Eric Gioia (right) and New York Road Runners Director
of Events Paul Ortalano (left) stretch out the finish line tape as Tariku Demelash Abera crosses the finish line to win the Queens
10K at Flushing Meadows Corona Park in a time of 29:49. Photo by Bruce Adler
Vol. 7 No. 25 56 total pages
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