Adrian Benepe News

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo to cut the ribbon on Printers Park, an imaginative new playground at Aldus Street and Hoe Avenue in the South Bronx. They were joined by youth summer campers from St. John Chrysostom School who enjoyed artistic stamping and sand art activities. The new playground, which replaced the existing outdated play equipment, was funded by $1 million allocated by Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo.

City Parks Foundation, in association with The Metropolitan Opera, today announced a series of free operatic recitals as part of the 2010 season of SummerStage that will take place in parks throughout the city.

The Metropolitan Opera announced plans for a series of free outdoor events this summer: operatic recitals that will take place in parks throughout the city and encore screenings of the Met's popular HD shows in Lincoln Center Plaza.

Parks & Recreation is proud to present Before They Were Parks, an exhibit featuring more than 100 vintage and contemporary photographs from the New York City Parks Photo Archive and other collections. The exhibit depicts the often surprising pre-park existence of some our most cherished public places.

City Parks Foundation, in association with The Metropolitan Opera, today announced a series of free operatic recitals as part of the 2010 season of SummerStage that will take place in parks throughout the city.

The Metropolitan Opera announced plans for a series of free outdoor events this summer: operatic recitals that will take place in parks throughout the city and encore screenings of the Met's popular HD shows in Lincoln Center Plaza.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined New York City's citizen tree stewards and members of Harlem's Proyecto de Embellecimiento 137th St. Beautification Project in watering street trees and encouraging New Yorkers to do so during this current heat wave and throughout the summer.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined City Council Member Charles Barron, President of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association Pat Lynch, members of Police Officer Robert Venable's family, Pastor Carol Hall and Reverend Doughty to cut the ribbon on over $6 million in new amenities at Robert Venable Park in Brooklyn, part of a total $8 million restoration currently underway. The reconstruction creates a new 3 ½ acre park, creating a lush oasis where asphalt and weeds once existed.

Today, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and City Council Members Melissa Mark-Viverito and Sara Gonzalez, at the citywide pool opening preview in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Children from P.S. 169 leapt into the pool with the first splash of the season. Also in attendance were synchronized swimmers The Harlem Honey Bears, and musical performers The Sunset Park Chinese Dancers. Attendees were treated to a barbecue lunch, sponsored by Western Beef and Honest Tea.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined City Council Member Margaret Chin, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) Director of Planning and Development Sayar Lonial, Community Board 3 Parks Committee Chair Thomas Yu, Hester Street Collaborative President Annie Frederick, and Cristina Roosevelt, great-great granddaughter of Sara D. Roosevelt, mother of Franklin D. Roosevelt, to cut the ribbon on nearly $5 million in improvements to Hester Street Playground. Students from IS 131 and University Settlement Day Care were also in attendance.

The Arsenal Gallery is pleased to present Transitory Space, an exhibition featuring multiple exposure photography by New York-based artist Leah Oates. The show focuses on Oates' travels to Beijing, Newfoundland, and New York's own Van Cortlandt Park and Pelham Bay Park.

Anyone can exercise - it's as easy as a walk in the park! Today, Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Mark Wagar, President and CEO of Empire BlueCross BlueShield, and Thomas Farley, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, to kick off the 'Summer of Health' with WALK NYC.

Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe today joined City Council Member Vincent Gentile to cut the ribbon on over $2.7 million in renovations to the former 'Dust Bowl' at Leif Ericson Park. At the event, Council Member Gentile announced a renaming contest for the new field.

Today, swimmers at St. Mary's Recreation Center in the Bronx participated in an attempt to break the Guinness World RecordTM for the World's Largest Swimming LessonTM. With support from the Stew Leonard III Children's Charities, a class of 30 young swimmers made a splash at a special swimming lesson that was simultaneously being taught at pools around the world.

On Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 11AM, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe will join Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Mary Rodgers Guettel, daughter of the composer Richard Rodgers and executive board member of the Rodgers Family Foundation, to break ground on $7 million in improvements to the amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park, 122nd Street and Mount Morris Park West.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe was today joined by City Council Member Gale Brewer, State Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Riverside Park Fund President John Herrold, and many members of the community to cut the ribbon on a new waterfront path in Riverside Park.

The official ribbon cutting and opening of 60 new sports fields on Randall's Island Park with Yankees star players, Red Bulls soccer players and Tennis Hall of Famer, John McEnroe, on Wednesday, May 19th. The event will take place at 1:00 p.m. at Randall's Island Park, Sunken Meadow Fields, # 27.

The NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, NYC Service and Equinox Fitness Clubs today launched the first week of its expanded Shape Up NYC, a free citywide fitness program that targets neighborhoods with high rates of obesity and obesity related disease.

City Parks Foundation, in association with The Metropolitan Opera, today announced a series of free operatic recitals as part of the 2010 season of SummerStage that will take place in parks throughout the city.

The Metropolitan Opera announced plans for a series of free outdoor events this summer: operatic recitals that will take place in parks throughout the city and encore screenings of the Met's popular HD shows in Lincoln Center Plaza.