Members of the Shore Road Park Conservancy say they spent two days cleaning up parts of the park between 88th and 97th streets — but a lack of volunteers is making it difficult to get the job done.
“People want to know why the park looks messy,” said Linda Allegretti, secretary of the Shore Road Gardens Council. “It’s because we don’t have enough people making a difference here.”
On April 10 and 11, leaves were raked, weeds were pulled and garbage was picked up, but with just 22 volunteers doing the job, not much was accomplished.
“There is just so much to do here,” said Allegretti. “And we just don’t have the manpower to do it all.”
Allegretti led the cleanup in the park, which hosts concerts and ball games, and provides seating overlooking the water, but because of weeds and soil erosion, she needs more volunteers to make the park as beautiful as it is supposed to be.
The Parks Department currently sends a gardener once a day to maintain the gardens in the park, but because of budget cuts, field workers for the parks come in fewer numbers.
“The Parks Department tries to help us out as much as they can,” said Allegretti. “But how much time can one gardener really spend in this one park?”
The Shore Road Park Conservancy will be hosting another cleanup next Monday and residents to put on their overalls and get to work.
“Upkeep of the park needs to be done everyday,” said Allegretti. “We need people to pick up their tools and just start gardening.”
Volunteer at Shore Road Park [between 88th Street and 97th Street on Shore Road in Bay Ridge, (646) 355-3709], April 18 from 8 am-3 pm.For info, visit www.shoreroadparks.org.
