At the Pelham-Fritz Recreation Center, the CRC has eight PCs, two MACs, a high-speed Internet connection, color printer, laser printer, digital video camera, digital still camera, scanner, digital projector, CD-burner, DVD-burner, and speakers.

The CRC is staffed for 35 hours per week with a Computer Resource Coordinator who is well versed in a wide range of computer skills. Each day, members of the Pelham-Fritz Recreation Center, who might not otherwise have the opportunity for hands-on computer access, take steps that increase their knowledge and move them further along in their quest to be a more active participant in the information age. The CRC also has a growing cadre of qualified volunteer instructors, many of them from New York Cares, that make one-on-one instruction possible.

All members can go online, type a letter or print a photo as part of their daily recreation center experience. Senior citizens can stay digitally connected to their families in a relaxed environment. Teenagers find the CRC to be a safe area to socialize and learn from each other. The teens are always supervised and are advised to be cautious in navigating the vast digital world. Neighborhood teens also learn to create and edit digital images and to create sounds and videos using the computer as a tool for creative expression.

The CRC is an integral part of Pelham-Fritzs Afterschool program. Children are challenged to use the computers to create artwork, write stories and do online research. In the Sister Cities Program, children in the Afterschool program communicate with children from cities around the world and are creating a digital "Dream Park" project.

All of the great benefits that Pelham-Fritzs CRC offers to its members are available to Parkies as well. The coordinator accommodates visits by Park employees for work-related computing tasks and will provide assistance on a case-by-case basis. With a supervisors permission, Parkies can also take computer classes in the CRC.

The Pelham-Fritz CRC also serves as a training center for the Parks Opportunity Program participants. Those that choose computer training during their orientation may wind up taking an intensive three-hour class for eight Friday mornings. Pelham-Fritzs CRC is one of just a few sites where the advanced POP class is taught. Outstanding POP computer students are referred to a much more technical course of training at Columbia Universitys Engineering School where they take six additional advanced level computer courses in a university setting.

The Pelham-Fritz CRC provides its members, Parkies and POP participants with an open-ended learning proposition, using quality computers, Internet connectivity, computer classes and a knowledgeable staff. This facility, like those in recreation centers throughout the City, is an innovative and effective approach to bridging the digital divide and one more thing to be proud of at Parks.

"These grants will help rebuild parks, create new youth recreation facilities and programs, and construct new waterfront parks and greenways," said Commissioner Benepe. "We are grateful to Governor Pataki and Commissioner Bernadette Castro of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for their leadership in awarding these grants."

From the creation of a brand new park in the Bronx called Barretto Pont to the building of Staten Island's first ever skate park, these funds will help keep many of Parks' exciting projects on track. Below is a brief description of how the funds will be used throughout the city.

BARRETTO POINT PARK

A $350,000 Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act grant will help create the first-ever waterfront park in the South Bronx. The main features of Barretto Point Park, a new five-acre park, will be a waterfront promenade and a large open lawn for general free play. Handball and basketball courts, sand volleyball courts, play equipment, a small amphitheater and new plantings will complete the park.

WARDS ISLAND

A Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act grant of $550,000, awarded to the Randall's Island Sports Foundation, will be used to create the Wards Island Waterfront Pathway. The waterfront path is the crucial first section of an Island-wide walkway featuring a two-tiered biking and pedestrian trail.

INWOOD HILL NATURE CENTER

A $85,000 Clean Air/Clean Water Bond Act grant will fund the construction of a new boathouse at the Inwood Hill Park Nature Center in Upper Manhattan. Parks will use the boathouse to enhance educational programs that focus on the city's marine ecosystem.

ALLEY POND NATURE CENTER

An Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) grant of $250,000 will enhance Parks' youth camping program at the Alley Pond Nature Center in Queens. The funds will improve the nature center's campsite as well as create a new challenge adventure trail, complete with climbing activities. This site is the first overnight Urban Park Ranger camping facility in a City park.

BATTERY PARK

A $350,000 EPF grant, awarded to The Battery Conservancy, will fund the Conservancy's "City Edge" project. The funding will help to revitalize the perimeter of Battery Park, bringing new lighting, benches, plantings and more. The project incorporates a new bikeway from Hudson River Park to the East River Esplanade, completing a key link in the long-awaited pathway around Manhattan.

MARCUS GARVEY PARK

A $295,000 EPF grant will cover a large portion of the funds needed for the Acropolis Restoration and Improvement Project in Marcus Garvey Park in Manhattan. The proposed project will replace benches, lighting and pavement to restore the historic character of the area.

MIDLAND BEACH

An EPF grant of $198,546 will help create a skateboard/rollerblade/BMX bicycle facility at Midland Beach on Staten Island. This project will provide the first public skate park on Staten Island, serving the community's rapidly-growing population of young people. Local high school skateboarders, skaters and BMX riders helped Parks to design the new facility.

Prepared by Jocelyn Aframe

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens

can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

(1901-1978)

Participants stayed late into the evening, sharing their memories of Marcus Garvey Park. From basketball tournaments to jazz concerts to quiet family picnics, the park has been the scene of many happy times. Eventually participants were able to articulate their specific concerns and compare their ideas for the parks future. Community resident Albert Davis suggested naming certain areas of the park to provide distinct identities for different locations, and former Parkie Jeannette Boyd added that installing bulletin boards listing park activities at each entrance would better inform and engage park users. With the help of Chandra Travis, a consultant hired to facilitate the meeting, community members worked together to reword their ideas as ten priorities that will direct future planning and action. Manhattan Outreach Coordinator Mary Price commented, "I am really pleased with the workshop. It seems like one of the main goals was achieved everyone who participated is very committed to working together in the future." Ten participants volunteered to summarize what was discussed and create a report for the group at the next community meeting, which is scheduled to take place during the second week of May.

One of the oldest parks in the city, Marcus Garvey Park has long been a center for spiritual, cultural, and educational events in Harlem. In 1999, it was targeted as one of five parks in Partnerships' catalyst program for intensive outreach, constituency building, and programming. Funded by the Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds, the catalyst program seeks to refine and test a strategic combination of public, private, and community resources to benefit and revitalize five diverse parks. A stroll around Marcus Garvey Park today reveals the benefits of recent investment and improvement. From its flowering gardens at each entrance, active playgrounds, and rich cultural programming, Marcus Garvey has turned a corner in its development. These visioning sessions are the next step in the park's continuing revitalization.

(Monday, April 29, 1989)

On Sunday, March 26^th, Mounted Parks Enforcement Patrol officers George Correa and Eugene Rogers observed a man throw a glass bottle to the ground at South Beach on Staten Island. After the officers issued an Environmental Control Board Summons for littering, the suspect, 48-year-old Eugene Cox, removed a $20 bill from his pocket and offered it to Rogers to "forget the whole thing."

The officers then placed the man under arrest and took him to the 123^rd precinct, where he was later charged with bribery in the second degree, disorderly conduct and littering.

"I had therefore to remove knowledge,

in order to make room for belief."

(April 22, 17241804)