Crocheron Park and Playground Beautification Campaign

The main goal of the Crocheron Beautification Campaign  is to help beautify the O'Rourke Playground and neighboring garden bed. These are two areas that surround the neighborhood school, PS 41. We look to create a more inviting space through procurement of shrubs, trees and plants as well as an interperative board for children to explore the park's various trees.  

Friends of Crocheron & John Golden Park ("Friends of Crocheron") created the Crocheron Beautification Campaign. Friends of Crocheron was founded in July 2020 in an effort to advocate for the park and playground. We connect with community members interested in assisting NYC Parks by providing assistance with clean-ups, plantings, and invasive species removal. Our volunteers and members have allowed us to effect change through their continual support of our programs. We look to expand on this by investing in our playground and garden bed space, areas used by park goers, and their families. 

While the garden bed has a number of plants, the NYC Parks gardener classifies them as weeds. There are areas without any plants or with plants that have died and need to be replaced. We believe that our native plants and tree species need to be showcased. We look to do so through beautification efforts that trim rough edges and fill in empty spaces. 

The Crocheron Beautification Campaign will allow us to improve the park while also allowing families and individuals to learn about our environment. We have been able to have successful projects thanks to the collaboration of NYC Parks, Partnership for Parks, ioby as well as our members, volunteers, and community partners.

• August 2021 - FoC's Environmental Sustainability Committee determines final plants and trees to be purchased 
• August 2021 -  FoC's Environmental Sustainability Committee and NYC Parks create interpretive board 
• September 2021 - begin to weed garden bed area
• November 2021 - plant bushes and add mulch
• November 2021 - NYC Parks installs signs
•  Spring 2021 - grand blossoming - opening event to invite our community to enjoy

Buz O'Rourke Playground and Crocheron Park, located in Bayside, Queens, is a 60 + acre parkland. There is a lot of space that NYC Parks has to maintain on in Our Park. While the park's recreational space has the playground itself, there are no other play structures in the park. Other areas are woodlands, fields, gazebos, and our pond.  We also have miles of trails, bathrooms, basketball court, tennis and pickleball courts, numerous baseball fields, and the perfect hill for sledding. 

A major renovation occurred over 20 years ago, in 1999. Since then the playground area has received little improvements. This is in combination with budgets with NYC. They are without their seasonal worker force and asking employees to take furloughs. This project will help to prevent worsening conditions of parkland in Crocheron.

Friends of Crocheron & John Golden Park's Crocheron Beautification Campaign will help to bring the O'Rourke Playground and surrounding area of Crocheron Park more pride, as we learn that communal ownership of public spaces brings us together and benefits our human need for ascetically pleasing surroundings. Together, we can revitalize Our Park!