Celebrate Spring in Forest Park

It’s the start of spring season, which means New Yorkers will be seeing “fields of gold” within their parks, gardens and Greenstreets, as New York City’s daffodils re-emerge in Forest Park.
“One of the most brilliant and dependable harbingers of spring in New York City is the re-emergence of our almost 3 million daffodils,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Thanks to the energy and generosity of our many Daffodil Project partners, sponsors, and bulb suppliers, communities throughout the City have been united through the act of planting this hope-bearing flower.”
In October of 2001, Parks & Recreation teamed up with Lynden Miller and New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) to launch The Daffodil Project, a citywide initiative to create a living memorial of hope after the tragedies of September 11. On the first day of this project, volunteers planted more than 120,000 bulbs across the City that were donated by B&K Bulbs of the Netherlands and the City of Rotterdam and Rotterdam’s Port Authority. The planting work of volunteers produced beautiful blooming flowers in the spring of 2002, and the flowers have unfailingly bloomed each season since.
Since the inception of the Daffodil Project, 20,000 volunteers and Parks Department staff have planted almost 3 million bulbs in 1,200 parks, playgrounds, schools, community gardens, and patches of green space throughout the City.
“As we celebrate the City’s annual transformation from gray to green, we can now celebrate yellow as well, because of the nearly three million daffodils that are blooming in New York City,” said New Yorkers for Parks Executive Director Christian DiPalermo. “We are grateful to the Parks Department and the thousands of volunteers who plant the bulbs every fall, all of whom make the Daffodil Project a great success.”
Commissioner Benepe encourages New Yorkers to unite with their communities by embracing this seasonal opportunity to view daffodils in bloom. Although every open bulb is a sight to be seen, the golden flowers are particularly breathtaking in Forest Park.
Whether it be at one of these locations or one you have discovered on your own, be sure to snap a photo while admiring the daffodils and you can win prizes and see your photo featured in The New York Sun when you enter New Yorkers for Parks’ NYC Daffodils photo contest, which will run through May 1, 2006. Please visit www.ny4p.org for contest details.