Highland Park

The Daily Plant : Tuesday, September 12, 2006

My Encounter With A Children’s Garden

Photo by Arthur Pirozzi

Somewhere between the end of childhood and early adolescence we tend to wander off from the security of our home and family in search of new explorations.  Let’s face it, we have perused mom’s pocketbook, explored all the kitchen cabinets, played for hours in the family car, examined every inch of the backyard (if you were fortunate to have one) and were just plain tired of playing on the same block.  Yes, now was the time to seek new explorations in the rest of the neighborhood.

These opportunities usually came in the form of visiting school chums and exploring their parts of the neighborhood.  Once during my childhood, I visited a friend who lived near Highland Park in the East New York section of Brooklyn.  We decided to walk to the Park and as we walked east along Jamaica Avenue, we first saw the Park’s edge at Warwick Street.  There was a tall black wrought-iron fence that, through a child’s eyes, no one could ever scale.  This fence encompassed an area that was about 100 feet wide by 1.5 City blocks.  Beyond the fence there was a sense of serenity on the tiny paths that encompassed the many flowerbeds.  The vast array of colors was as awesome as the perfumed scent that filled the air.  I found the entrance, which was a gate leading through a small structure, and wanted to go in but the gate was locked.  I visited Highland Park many times during my youth and could never gain access to that garden.  I never saw anyone in it.  Even when I became a licensed driver, I would pass by but the gate was locked.  All one could do was peer through the bars.

During my tenure as a Parks employee, which began on a cold day in 1973, I still couldn’t find a way to get into that garden.  I learned over the years that it was known as a Children's Garden that was opened to the public on July 1, 1936.  It was situated on a ½ acre of property next to the old Schenk House that was built in 1762.  There were several of these located around the City and were designed as a great way to introduce inner-city school children to the world of gardening for the purpose of growing flora and vegetables.  The Parks Department also made a garden on a long trailer that was driven into various neighborhoods for the community to view.  Some of the schools participated in the planting and maintenance of assigned plots under the direction of their teacher and Parks personnel.  This concept actually dates back to the turn of the 20th century when the City opened some public gardens.  The public schools participated in this program but the Catholic schools did not, which explains why I was personally unfamiliar with the garden.

Now we fast-forward to October, 2004.   I was performing the Weekend Commissioner assignment with Marty Brenner and we stopped at Lower Highland Park.  After the pleasantries at the Park house with the on-duty staff, we moved into the playground to inspect the equipment.  It may have been some of the very same equipment that I played on.  I looked off into the distance and I saw people in the garden.  This was finally my big chance to get inside!  I told Marty that I had to go in there immediately.  To my relief, when I got to the gate, it was open!  Inside was a group of volunteers from a church in Woodhaven.  The leader was Ed Moore and he was accompanied by his wife and several youngsters.  They were performing a fall clean up.  We took several photographs and it made my day.  Fortunately for the people of East New York, there are concerned citizens dedicated to maintaining that very same beauty that I saw in the early 1960s.

Written by Arthur Pirozzi, Director of Telecommunications

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Early in my career, I struggled with consistency,
but I couldn't get more consistent than this year.”

Roger Federer
(1981 -  )