Bayside residents got together this past weekend for a healthy dose of spring cleaning around the neighborhood.
On Saturday, April 13, the Bayside Hills Civic Association (BHCA) and Partnership for Parks hosted the annual It’s My Park at Bell Malls cleanup event. Event volunteers raked leaves, planted flowers and replaced mulch along the Bayside Hills malls.
“It is an honor to have such a large contingency from the Department of Parks, from Partnership for Parks, BaysideLiveTV, Bayside Hills Civic Association Board of Directors, our Beautification Committee [and] the Boy Scouts of America,” said BHCA President Michael Feiner in an interview with BaysideLiveTV.
Councilman Barry Grodenchik and NYC Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) volunteers also lent their helping hands during Saturday’s cleanup efforts.
“They’re all working up and down Bell Boulevard from 48th Avenue all the way to our 9/11 Memorial, sprucing up the community for a very well worth it neighborhood,” Feiner added.
The beautification and clean up effort is part of a series of It’s My Park events throughout the five boroughs. According to the City Parks Foundation, the It’s My Park program offers year-round volunteer opportunities that allow people to give back by “cleaning, painting, weeding, planting and more.”
The City Parks Foundation partnered with NYC Parks to create Partnership for Parks, a public-private partnership “that supports and champions neighborhood volunteers by giving them the tools they need to advocate and care for their neighborhood parks and green spaces.”
In addition to the cleanup efforts, Partnership for Parks offers free workshop and training sessions and grants programs to fund park projects across New York City’s over 2,000 parks.
“These places are our backyards, where we connect, play and celebrate life’s moments. When people come together to care for these spaces, they thrive. And when parks thrive, neighborhoods thrive. Parks are spaces where community members and decision makers can work together to create their city,” according to the City Parks Foundation website.
There are three upcoming It’s My Park clean-up events in Queens:
- Saturday, April 20 – It’s My Park at Margaret I. Carman Green – Weeping Beech
- Saturday, April 27 – It’s My Park at Glenwood Landing
- Saturday, April 27 – It’s My Park at Hoover – Manton Playgrounds
