By SASHA AUSTRIE
Under brilliant blue skies and a slight spring breeze, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe bowled the first official pitch on the new Baisley Pond Park cricket field on Monday.
Local officials and cricketers cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the newly renovated Baisley Pond Park in Queens. Photos by Ira Cohen
“It is a spectacular day to be here celebrating the opening of the cricket ground,” Benepe said.
Borough President Helen Marshall allocated $650,000 for construction of the new field, which includes a league-sized cricket pitch and a sustainable drainage system of planted bioswales, which are designed to remove silt and pollution from the surface of runoff water.
Marshall said it was both “a privilege and a pleasure” to provide the funds for the park. In the past five years, Marshall has donated more than $1 million to Baisley Pond Park and has allocated $140 million to the borough’s parks.
“Our parks, thanks to the investments of many elected officials, are home to 30 cricket grounds,” Benepe said.
Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski gave late-Councilman Tom White credit for embracing and supporting Baisley Pond Park to the tune of $10 million.
“This would have been a golden day for him,” she said.
United States of America Cricket Association secretary John Aaron (r) chats with Borough President Helen Marshall (l) and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
White’s Successor, Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica), hopes to build on White’s legacy, by promising he would try to secure a cricket stadium so international games can be played in the borough.
Cricket is the fastest growing sport in New York City and has a long history in the borough. It is one of 19 sports played in the Public School Athletic League, with 26 high schools and 50 colleges participating.
Community Board 12 Parks Committee Chairwoman Marguerite Barrett remembers the first cricket field in Southeast Queens on 110th Avenue and 173rd Street.
“We use to come out every Sunday and we use to watch cricket all day long,” she said. “I wish the cricket team the best of luck.”
Phillip Franklin, a member of the home team the Melbourne/NY Alliance Cricket Club, has played cricket in the park for more than 30 years. He said the park was rife with pebbles and broken bottles initially. In the mid 1970s, the cricket field received a makeover, but Franklin said it is nothing compared to the pitch’s latest facelift.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall about to send down a delivery.
“This is most definitely the most beautiful cricket field in New York City,” said Joe Siewharack of the Melbourne/NY Alliance Cricket Club. “We hope to make it better than this.”
Story courtesy of www.queenspress.com
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