The Maspeth Lions Club hosted a bocce tournament at the newly restored court located in Frank Principe Park on Sunday, Sept. 25. The bocce court was restored after efforts from Councilman Robert Holden and Ronald Taylor from the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
“I’m happy to see this bocce court in Principe Park restored and being enjoyed again,” Holden said.
The bocce court is one of many courts in Principe Park that have been left to decay. It had been unusable for 25 years, according to Holden.
He told QNS he was encouraged to restore the bocce court after district resident Lance Lovejoy, an active caretaker of Principe Park, pleaded with the councilman to make repairs.
Holden teamed up with Taylor, the administrative parks and recreation manager of the city’s Parks Department, to make the restoration of the bocce court a reality.
“I’m sure it will get a lot of use for many years to come,” Holden said. “Many thanks to caring residents Lance Lovejoy and Ronald Taylor from NYC Parks for getting it done.”
All profits from the tournament went to charity, including the St. Stanislaus Sports Program and the Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Fund.
Several local establishments donated food for the event, including Frank’s Deli, Mario’s Meats & Deli, Iavarone Bros., Rosa’s Pizza, 69th Street Beer Distributors and Jim Von Eiff State Farm Insurance.
The bocce tournament was sponsored by Maspeth Federal Savings, Papavero Funeral Home, Maspeth Contracting and E3TECH, LLC.
