Memorial Grove opens in Van Cortlandt ParkBy Adam Wisnieski Posted 6/6/12
Marisol DÍAZ/THE RIVERDALE PRESS Korean Veteran and Kingsbridge resident Herb Barret, takes a walk in the newly renovated Memorial Grove in Van Van Cortlandt Park on June 1. When construction workers started work on Memorial Grove in April, there was no ceremonial groundbreaking, no city officials or politicians wearing hardhats. And when the grove finally opened days before Memorial Day, after countless setbacks and delays, there was no ribbon cutting or marching band. There was no ceremony on the perfect day for commemorating fallen soldiers inside the Grove made possible by veterans. There were 39 plaques in front of 39 trees and two happy veterans from Kingsbridge. Herb Barret and Don Tannen’s mission, which began in 2006, was to reconstruct the long-neglected memorial in Van Cortlandt Park near West 242nd Street that was originally built to acknowledge soldiers who died during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Mr. Barret got local politicians and Community Board 8 to support the idea. In 2007, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz was able to convince the Department of Parks and Recreation to clean up the area and install a wire fence around the Grove. Then, in 2009, Councilman Oliver Koppell allocated $250,000 and the Parks Department began planning a restoration. Still, the site remained untouched for more than a year while Parks tried to choose a contractor. In early 2011, it looked like work was finally going to begin, but the hired contractor subverted its requirements for hiring a woman- or minority-owned subcontractor. The project was delayed again when the contractor’s plaques were not approved by the Parks Department because they displayed the wrong font and because workers had installed the wrong fencing. Six years later, after dozens of visits to the community board to bemoan the city’s tangled bureaucracy, Mr. Barret’s grove is finally complete. “It feels good,” he said on June 1 from the Grove. Before Memorial Day, Mr. Barret walked around and placed a plastic flower next to each stone.
KeywordsMemorial Grove, Van Cortlandt Park, Herb Barret, Don Tannen, Adam Wisnieski, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Oliver Koppell, Parks Department
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it is very sad indeed to realize that most of the folks that benefit every day from the sacrafices of the fallen, could care less about any form of reverance in remembering them. considering that a growing number of immigrants from all over the world now occupy the homes of the dead soldiers from years ago have no loyalty to the riverdale community or this country is disgusting. the same people honor the flags of the cuba, mexico, el salvador, hatti, jamica, brazil, africa and every other country on the face of the earty, but they could care less about the sacrifices made by the sons and daughters of these red white and blue riverdale heroes .
i feel sorry for this old dude standing alone in the park on memorial day. the realization that no one gives a dam must really hurt. true riverdaleians need to be outraged at the take over of a wounderful place by people who could care less.
it wasn't that way when i lived and grew up in riverdale. SHAME on the riverdale press, shame on the local B.S. politicians, shame on the parks department and shame on the people of riverdale. Friday, June 8, 2012|Report this
The absence of an official ceremony and the past neglect is very shameful but blaming the parks department or politicians is not the answer. Instead, lets ask what we can do. We can visit the the Memorial Grove. When we visit, we can pick up the litter that will surely find. We can make a note on our busy calendars to bring a flower to the memorial the next Memorial Day. We can make sure "the old dude standing alone" will not be standing alone on future Memorial Days. Most importantly, we can ask what we can do to help a returning vet today.
And as for the jcaljcal's comments, the commenter should take a moment to review the names of our recent fallen soldiers and note the DIVERSITY of those who are making the ultimate sacrifice right now. Tuesday, June 12, 2012|Report this