The Forest Hills Gardens Blog

This is the editorial from the August 11th issue of the Queens Ledger /  Forest Hills Times Weekly Newspaper…..

The 750 members of the West Side Tennis Cub in Forest Hills Gardens have it great.

To have the distinct advantage of hanging out in a quasi-luxury lifestyle private playground while in the urban setting of Queens is certainly a privilege. There’s tennis, a pool, platform tennis, an outside dining experience in a terrific setting with a glorious view, and a nice restaurant in the clubhouse.

Contrary to popular belief, its historic 15,000-seat stadium is not the centerpiece of the club, it is more like a black-eye on the club. It’s nice to look at from afar and a rare gem. It’s makes for an awesome backdrop view from the outside dining area. But get a bit closer and you realize it’s in disrepair, it is huge, and it’s useless to the club members.

It’s a topic of controversy among club members, and needs to be addressed by club leadership on a regular basis. That task is no different than what goes on at any other private club, this one just happens to have the most historic tennis stadium in the world and it is located in New York – the media capital of the world.

Eventually there will be a plan that passes, but it’s going to take masterful leadership to get it through.

One member we spoke with recently said the “stadium issue” is on the minds of most of the members, but few really want to talk about it because its resolution is really at the heart of the direction of the club.

“Should the stadium be taken down, it’s like history is gone. If the stadium stays, it’s not allowing the club to expand and possibly get a new necessary income source,” said the member. “We just got an assessment, and I am sure there are more to come if we don’t do something.”

Members were asked not to speak to the press or people outside the club, as it might compromise the position of the club as it asks for proposals from developers on a way to use the stadium. (See story on page 11 of the Forest Hills Times.)  But leadership of the club can not ignore that the future use of the stadium will dramatically effect the type of members who will join the club going forward.

Keep plugging away at a solution. If one does not emerge now, it will.

To the developers: beware of your attitude when making offers. The club is not desperate, nor are its members. Its leaders are not at the end of their rope. When making proposals, don’t crunch those numbers with the idea that the club has no choice and needs to do something or it will not exist. If members don’t approve something this time, it will be the next time, or the next.

David Wood, the son of Tennis Hall of Famer Sidney Wood, will appear with New Chapter Press Publisher Randy Walker on Tuesday, July 19th, at 5:00pm, at the West Side Tennis Club.

David Wood will discuss his father’s posthumously published book, The Wimbledon Final That Never Was  ($15.95, New Chapter Press, www.newchaptermedia.com) which details the life and times of Sidney Wood with a focus on one of the most unusual episodes ever in sport –when he won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon by forfeit.   David will also be available to sign books -which will be on sale at the event, and show us the very racquet with which his father won Wimbledon back in 1931.

Sidney Wood -who reached the final of the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills back in 1935, later founded the prestigious Town Tennis Club in Manhattan.  His fascinating life also included dating the iconic Grace Kelly prior to her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956.

All members and guests of the West Side Tennis Club as well as players in the USTA Women’s National Grass Court Championships are welcome.

For more information, please contact: Randy Walker at New Chapter Press: (917) 770-0843

Forest Hills resident and Forestdale Board Member, Catherine Barton, helped organize the first benefit fundraiser for Forestdale at the William Bennett Gallery on Greene Street in Mnahattan on Tuesday night. 

Located here in Forest Hills, Forestdale is a non-profit organization dedicated to the future of families in Queens. The organization provides innovative social services to parents and children in inner-city communities. Forestdale’s programs include foster care, preventive services and support for pregnant and parenting teens. In addition, Forestdale hosts the nationally recognized Fathering Initiative, which works to strengthen the bond between non-custodial fathers and their children.  Founded in 1854, Forestdale now touches the lives of thousands of children and families every year.

Forestdale’s predecessor -the Brooklyn Industrial School Association, was founded by two women who were neighbors in Brooklyn Heights.  Due to the conventions of the time, we know them only by their husbands’ names, Mrs. Gamaliel King and Mrs. Richard Sharp.  Mrs. King was a member of the Washington Street Methodist Church, while Mrs. Sharp attended the Centenary Methodist Church.  They recruited other women in their congregations to start a small school for homeless children, which quickly expanded.  By the end of the 19th century, there were seven schools across Brooklyn.  These eventually consolidated into the Brooklyn Home for Children, which moved to its present location in Forest Hills in 1940.

For more information, check out their Web site at www.forestdaleinc.org

High Line Park in Chelsea may be the best argument for openning the High Line Park in Queens.

According to The New York Times (6/5/11), “The High Line Isn’t Just a Sight to See; It’s also an Economic Dynamo.”  The New York Post (6/6/11) calls The High Line a “Gold Mine” – that has brought billions of dollars and 12,000 new jobs to its nabe.

So, what exactly is The High Line?  It’s an elevated railroad track abandoned in 1980 that has recently been preserved as a public park thanks to a community-based group determined to turn an eyesore into an asset.  And, boy, have they!

Pointing to all the apartment buildings, art galleries, restaurants and boutiques the High Line now overlooks, Mayor Bloomberg said last week, “I don’t think anyone expected this economic impact.”  All that commerce more than makes up for the $115 million the city has spent on it.

So, could there be a High Line Park in Queens?

The Rockaway Line seems to have great potental as an elevated public greenway.  The Rockaway Line is an abandoned LIRR track that diverges from the main line in Rego Park at about 66th Avenue, cuts through Forest Hills. Forest Park, and heads out into the Rockaways.  Abandoned in 1962, the line is visible in Forest Hills near the Forest Hills Little League, bridges over Fleet Street, Yellowstone and Metropolitan Avenue and is adjacent to the new Metropolitan High School complex near Home Depot.  It is bookended by the Forest Hills and Ridgewood-Glendale-Middle Village-Maspeth Little Leagues before heading into Forest Park.

Something to think about and explore…

On Saturday, May 29th, family and friends of Edith Gati gathered at The Community House in Forest Hills Gardens to celebrate her life.

Born on May 17, 1930, in Budapest, Hungary, Edith was the younger of two sisters. Her family was affluent and cultured. As a little girl, she was baptized a Lutheran.  When the Nazis invaded Budapest, she witnessed many atrocities first hand.  Her father was drafted into the Hungarian army and died during the war.  She and her older sister fled with their mother from Budapest to Vienna fearing that their Jewish ancestry would lead them to be interned.  After the war ended, the three emigrated to Sao, Paolo, Brazil.  Edith became an accomplished dress designer and seamstress.  She married her husband John, whom she had known in Hungary, and moved to the United States in 1965.  She worked as a custom seamstress for the Givenchy Boutique and then for many years at Bergdorf-Goodman.  She had two children, William and Paul.  In later years, she nursed her husband through a long bout with cancer before he eventually passed.  Edith loved gardening, fashion and all things beautiful, her friends, the opera, and her two sons above all.  She passes on to be with the Lord on May 24, 2011, after a ten-day illness.  Friends remembered her colorful garden, delicious cakes and warm smile.

The Reverend Noel Vanek of the Church in the Gardens and her son, Bill Gati, a local architect and musician, orchestrated a moving ceremony filled with thoughtful words, beautiful music, pretty flowers and, of course, some cake!

PHOTOS

1. Rego-Forest Preservation Council Photoset featuring Stadium, Clubhouse, Memorabilia -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/sets/72157607136282297/

2. Forest Hills Tennis Stadium: Gallery 1 featuring Joe Shlabotnik/Peter Dutton’s photos -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/galleries/72157624960334088

3. Forest Hills Tennis Stadium: Gallery 2 featuring Joe Shlabotnik/Peter Dutton’s photos -
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8095451@N08/galleries/72157624960580042/

http://www.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/WestParkM.pdf

In an effort to help replace the many beautiful trees we lost in the micro-burst this fall, the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance in partnership with MillionTreesNYC and the New York Restoration Project will be giving away 100 trees to residents of New York City on Sunday, June 12th from 1:00 -3:00pm at MacDonald Park (Queens Blvd & 70th Ave). The event will be held rain or shine, on a first-come, first serve basis, and the offer is limited to one tree per household/apartment building. Limited quantities of Cherry and Blackgum trees will be available. 

These trees are intended for planting on private property and cannot be planted along streets, on rooftops or terraces, or in city parks.  Simple tree planting  and care instructions come with each tree.

Led by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and  NYRP, MillionTreesNYC is a citywide, public/private initiative that recognizes the benefits trees provide New York City residents, neighborhoods and the environment, with an ambitious goal: to plant and care for one million new trees across the city’s five boroughs by 2017.

The event is sponsored by Jet Blue Airways, BNP Paribas, and Toyota.

For more information, please contact Michael Perlman, Queens VP of the Four Borough Neighborhood Preservation Alliance at unlockthevault@hotmail.com

According to the April 10, 2011 issue of the Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church bulletin, a response has been issued by The Diocese of Brooklyn concerning The Reverend Monsignor Michael B. Dempsey - the beloved priest who served this community for many years before being placed on administrative leave for the possible violation of internet child pornography laws.

The statement received on April 4th reads: “The issue that resulted in the Rev. Monsignor Michael Dempsey’s placement on Administrative Leave in 2010 remains unresolved.  The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, will seek a final and definitive resolution of his case from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome.”

Monsignor Dempsey informed Bishop DiMarzio that the federal investigation was dropped back in November. Parishioners have been wondering why there has been no update from The Diocese of Brooklyn.  Although this is not the answer parishioners were hoping for, at least it shows a respectful response from The Bishop which is appreciated.

Geraldine A. Ferraro – a long time resident of Forest Hills Gardens and former Queens congresswoman, who will best be remembered as the first woman in American history to be nominated for vice president of the United States, has died.  She was 75 years old and being treated for multiple myeloma – a form of blood cancer, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at the time of her death. 

Also the first Italian-American to be nominated for national office on a major-party ticket, Ms. Ferraro was Roman Catholic and attended Our Lady of Mercy Church in Forest Hills (although she was a member of the Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish).  A member of the Democratic party, who ran with Walter Mondale against Ronald Regan and George H.W. Bush -who ultimately won the 1984 presidential election, Ferraro spoke out on behalf of women’s rights and abortion.  She stated that although she personally would not stand in the way of a woman’s right to an abortion, she was personally against it.  Sadly, because of this, her funeral mass, which is scheduled for Thursday, March 31st, at St. Vincent Ferrer Church in Manhattan -where she was currently residing, is meeting with some debate.  Whatever the outcome, the family has asked that the funeral be private, and that only family and close friends attend.

A wake will be held at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan on Tuesday, March 29th, and Wednesday, March 30th, from 2:00-5:00pm and 7:00-9:00pm.

Ms. Ferraro is survivied by her husband John Zaccaro; her children Donna, John, Jr. and Laura; and eight grandchildren.  In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation for which Ms. Ferraro served as an honorary board member. 

For more information about the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, or to make a donation, go to: www.themmrf.org