Green Up In Broad Channel

By Dan Guarino

American Littoral Society’s Restoration Corp prepares the ground.Broad Channel’s 17th Road Park, a center point of the community, will be looking a lot more colorful this summer.

A team of volunteers from community and local ecological groups along NYC Parks personnel were hard at work planting dozens of greenery and flowering plants at the park just off Cross Bay Boulevard.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Parks’ Rockaway Supervisor Portia Dyrenforth. On a recent trip to view another project, Broad Channel Civic Association President Dan Mundy Jr. and Dan Mundy Sr. of the Jamaica Bay Eco-Watchers, pointed out that most of the plants had died off after Hurricane Sandy.

After that the planting project came together very quickly.

“Dan Sr. got us the volunteers,” Dyrenforth said, speaking of the neighborhood residents, Eco-Watchers, Civic Association members and other groups that came out. Some neighbors walked over to the park and pitched in.

Broad Channel neighbors pitch in.“He gave me a call,” said Elizabeth Stoehr of the American Littoral Society (ALS). Dylan Edmonds, Youth Coordinator for ALS’s Restoration Corps, noted “This is our first project of the summer.” Later the group comprised of high school and first year college students will help do a tree inventory in Broad Channel.

Under the guidance of Adrianna Jacykewycz, Parks Director of Horticulture for Queens, plants which thrive in sandy environments were brought in. “We’re putting in rugosa roses, Montauk daisies and Blue Mist shrubs.” The hardy plants will also bloom in a variety of colors over successive months.

“We also got a donation of two evergreens from a Christmas tree farm and Parks Forestry Service is going to replace the trees.”

(L to r) NYC Parks Rockaway Supervisor Portia Dyrenforth, Jamaica Bay Eco- Watchers Dan Mundy Sr. and Broad Channel Civic Association President Dan Mundy Jr. organize a planting at 17th Road Park. More than 120 plants were put in.“Over 120 roses and other plants have been put in along with a nice covering of mulch,” said Dan Mundy Jr. commenting on the results of the day.

“It’s going to look beautiful.”