Whitey Ford Field Cleanup Recap

OANA joined Friends of Whitey Ford Field in one of the largest local park cleanups in recent years, as part of NYC Parks’ citywide “Pitch In For Parks” program. Originally expecting 20–30 volunteers, the event drew a 75 people who pruned trees, cleared garbage, and filled 150 bags with waste.

The event was promoted through social media and LinkNYC and brought out teams from Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts, NYC Rising Stars, East River Sharks, and FDNY’s Youth Explorer Program. A DOT representative also shared updates on the Queens Greenway Project, with support from the Queens Borough President’s office.

Special thanks to Peter Rose of Hydro Quebec and the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) team for their support. The $6B CHPE project—now 70% complete—continues construction along Shore Boulevard in Astoria Park, in order to bring clean energy from Canada to NYC.

Friends of Whitey Ford Field is committed to keeping the park in the public eye, with more community events planned. Their newly launched fundraising initiative will support student and youth volunteers with opportunities to get involved.

Read more in the Queens Gazette article by Neil Herdan: Pitching In at Whitey Ford Field.

You can also read our previous post, written by Neil Herdan here.