Tryingto bringalittle greento Whitestone

e at the Malba Gardens CivicAssciciation have been work-int' on several projects sinceour reactivation several Yearsago.

The first project was getting Fifth Ave., adangerous block in our communit5t, con-verted into a one-waywe$tbound street, inorder to prevent cars, trucks and othercommercial vehicles from speeding downa residential street and using it as a conduitintoWhitestone.

The second involved the local park.Francis Lewis Park did not have any cross-walks or traffrc-con-trol devices, whichmade entering andexiiting the park ex-tremely dangerousforyoungfamilies, aswell as the childrenthat frequent thep*k.

Yet one project that has received enor-mous support from the community is oureffort to purchase six remaining acres thatonce belonged to the Catholic Youth Orga-nization. Thii properlry once housed a com-munity pool and other child-friendly facili-ties, such as a day camp complete with or-ganized sports programs. It was sold to adeveloper who built a few hundred newhomes. The remaining lot is the result of adown real estate market.

In 2008, seeing a possible opportunity, Ifloated the idea to some of our members.The idea was well liked and we began in-quiring about the property and how to go

about acquiring it. State Sen. Tony Avellaheard ofour idea and reached outto us, of-feringhishelp.

Our idea is to acquire the remaininggreen space and give itback to the childrenof the community. We envision LittleLeague baseball, T-ball, softball, soccer,football and lacrosse fields, an all-weatherrunning track as well as on-site parking, aclubhouse and a possible concessionstand.

All this would give back to the youth ofthe community something that was takenaway. It would provide an outlet an$ get

children out there running around and pro-

moting healthful living, along with the in-valuable lessons learned when one partici-pates in organized sports. Itwould also pro-

vide volunteer and employment opportuni-ties.

Several local sports leagues have con-tacted us and expressed support for theproject. Among.them are D&G Boys and

Girls Club, Whitestone CYO, DAC Athlet-ic CIub, and the Auburndale Soccer andSports league. These local leagues repre-sent thousands of families within the com-munity that would benelit from this acqui-sition.

Many residents have expressed excite-ment over the prospect of finally gettingsomething back for the children of the com-munity. We have received hundreds ofemails in support of our efforts. Many resi-dents in our communitSt grew up in theneighborhood and decided to stay, raisingtheir families iq the same neighborhood

they gre-w up in, thesame neighborhoodtheylove.

Instead of movingoutto Long Island orWestchester, theychose to stay, only towatch their neigh-

borhood become increasingly overdevel-op."d.

Many remember the daYs when the CYOoffered youngsters the opportunity to par-ticipate in organized sports, swim in itspool, and participate in its camp programs.Many parents volunteered and/or hadtheirfirst jobs atthe CYO.This is an oppor-tunity to give back to the community asense.of neighborhood, while gMng ourchildren a much needed venue to get out inthefreshair.

We envision a community-based facilitythat includes parking, in an effort to allevi-ate parking problems for surroundingneighbors during the games, and that thechildren of the community can enjoy forgenerations to come.

We hope to bring back green space to acommunity that once had plenty and nowfinds itselflacking.

With the help of our community, Iocalelected officials and possibly some outsidesponsorships, this lastpiece of green spacewillbeback inthe hands of the communityforourchildren.

To see the look on a child's face when heor she is part of a team is priceless.

The Malba Gardens CMc Association isa small civic association within the con-fines of a small working-class communityin Whitestone, Queeni. Our focus is to en-sure a sa.fe and secure. environment for thefamilies of the community.

Ifyou have any comments and/or sug-gestions, please email Malbagardensciv-ic@hotmail.com, or visit our blog at:Malbagardens.blogspot.comAlftedo Centola is the president of the M al'b a Gardens Ciaic Asso ciation.