The Flushing Business Improvement District (BID) joined Councilwoman Sandra Ung and volunteers from a local Chase Bank branch for a cleanup event at James Bland Playground on Wednesday, May 11.
“Spring Cleaning Day in Flushing demonstrates what can happen when corporations and nonprofits partner,” said Dian Yu, executive director, Flushing BID. “Together, we can keep Flushing clean.”
Approximately 30 volunteers from the Chase Bank branch located in the nearby Skyview Center and representatives from the BID spent three hours picking up trash and painting park benches in the playground, which is located at the intersection of 40th Road and Prince Street.
Bland Playground has several play areas, as well as handball and basketball courts. It was built in 1952, and will soon undergo a complete, approximately yearlong renovation.
“Flushing is very dense, so we don’t have a lot of opportunities to create new open space, which is why we have to focus on taking care of the parks and playgrounds we do have,” Ung said. “And playgrounds in downtown Flushing, like Bland, Maple and Bowne, receive a lot of use, especially in the summer, so we appreciate volunteer efforts like this to help keep them in good shape.”
The cleanup event was coordinated on the part of Chase Bank by Jason Xia, who thanked the BID and community leaders for their volunteer efforts.
“We hope to do more work in the future for the betterment of the community,” Xia said.
