The proposed half-acre mediation garden – which recently received unanimous support from Community Board 7’s Parks Committee – unveiled their plans for a peaceful, green area that would serve as a sanctuary for the patients, caregivers and the community surrounding New York Hospital Queens in Flushing.
A luncheon meeting at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel on August 26 gave garden designer and landscape planner Dwight Andrews – along with Myra Baird Herce, co-president of the Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy – the opportunity to outline the proposal for elected officials like Senators Frank Padavan and Toby Ann Stavisky, horticulturists, prospective donors and members of the press.
“We want to create this space for oncology patients and their caregivers,” said Andrews. “There have been many studies that show the benefits of particular surroundings. It’s very important to the outcome and success of any treatment.”
The overall purpose for the proposed garden is to have a place for patients and caregivers to go before and after treatments, visiting hours for guests and a location to memorialize or honor family and friends either at the hospital or in the community. The plans also call for seasonal and legacy plantings of flowers and trees, wheelchair-friendly walkways, benches and a fountain.
Former executive director of the Queens Botanical Garden and current conservancy president “Chuck” Roland Glenn Wade – the brainchild behind the meditation garden – believes the project can be finished within six months if they can get the $400-500K it would take for construction and seeding of the area.
To the excitement of Herce, Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy Meditation Garden has become a charitable organization, therefore all donations received will be 501c3 tax deductable. According to Wade, another application must be filed in Albany before charitable donations may be accepted. So far, they have raised less than $10,000 but are confident the money will be there when the time is right.
“We have a good shot at this . . . you have to have enthusiasm and fire in the belly,” said Herce.
Stavisky echoed the need for a garden across the street from the radiation oncology building at 56th Avenue and 141st Street.
“It will offer an oasis in an urban setting not only for patients but for the staff, too,” said Stavisky.
Anyone interested in making a donation can mail a check made out to Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy, Attention Chuck Wade, P.O. Box 520087, Flushing, NY, 11352.
