Dozens of volunteers spent their weekend morning cleaning up Shore Road Park on Oct. 18.
Friends of the park cleared brush and spruced up the miles-long park at spots near 81st, 87th, 91st, and 97th streets, as well as Owl’s Head Park and Narrows Botanical Garden — and this year, the haul of litter and detritus was massive, one organizer said.
“We filled up a garbage truck and more,” said Shore Road Parks Conservancy president Charles Fasano.
The conservancy hosted the cleanup with support from Bay Ridge Prep and local politicians, he said.
Much of the work involved weeding and spreading mulch to stop the unwanted foliage’s march through the green space, but crews also ripped out some dead branches and brambles, reclaiming vistas for park-goers, Fasano said.
“We took a whole section of the park that, before, if you looked at it from the cobblestones, you couldn’t see the shore at all.”
A senior at Fort Hamilton High School who has participated in the cleanup for the past four years said the work is making a difference — even though Hurricane Sandy trashed the park in 2012.
“I’ve definitely seen a big change since my Freshman year,” said Johnathan Hernandez, a leader in the school’s Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps. “Sandy happened, and that really screwed the park over. This year, we came and there was only weeds.”
The school’s reserve officers in training did a lot of heavy lifting, weeding, mulching and hauling trash, he said. The students got community service hours for their shrub-schlepping, but Hernandez said his organization’s participation was about more than just hitting a quota.
“Anyone, at any age, can do it and should do it — it’s so rewarding,” Hernandez said.
