As many Bronxites were digesting the latest news and results regarding the presidential election, around 15 volunteers from the University Heights community and Friends of Aqueduct Walk gathered for a park clean-up event along the Old Croton Aqueduct Walk between 183rd Street and Fordham Road on Sunday, Nov. 8. The group also used the occasion to plant a series of crocus bulbs along the route as well.

 

Friends of Aqueduct Walk member, Samantha Cardenas, told the Norwood News, “The event was hosted in collaboration with Partnership for Parks with Park Catalyst extraordinaire, Pilar Maschi.”

Maschi is a “Catalyst” initiative organizer with Partnership for Parks, the latter, a public-private program that supports and champions community leaders who care and advocate for neighborhood parks and green spaces, equipping people, organizations and government with the skills and tools they need to transform their green spaces into dynamic community assets.

 

As previously reported by Norwood News, Maschi has long been involved in the revitalization and beautification of the historic Aqueduct Walk, which stretches from West Tremont Avenue to Kingsbridge Road and Aqueduct Avenue.

 

During the event, volunteers planted over 500 crocus bulbs to beautify the walk and “deter unwanted activities” from becoming the norm in the area. “The Old Croton Aqueduct Walk is full of beautiful history, and our community deserves to be celebrated,” Cardenas said.

Since its foundation, Partnership for Parks has connected dedicated community groups to over half of New York City’s 1,700 park properties, building a higher level of civic involvement in city government. The program envisions parks as spaces where community members and decision makers work together to create their city.

 

The group’s signature project is the Catalyst program, which exists “to build community participation and pride, and to connect people, ideas and efforts in order to develop shared goals, and sustain local leadership and green space stewardship.”

Can’t think of a better day (victory day!) to clear the weeds and plant in the #BX. We choose the radical joy of community growth every day.

Proud of all the BIPOC womxn who decided this #election, planting seeds for a brighter future. #AqueductWalk #WeRise #BidenHarris pic.twitter.com/CzSIe6f3ml

— Pierina Sanchez NYC (@PiSanchezNYC) November 8, 2020

Cardena said Friends of Aqueduct Walk are working in collaboration with Photoville and PhotoWings on a public art exhibit to celebrate the history of the people of Aqueduct Walk, and people are currently gathering photos all the way back to the 1950s as part of the initiative to document its history. She said the group are excited by the project.

 

Photowings is a nonprofit organization dedicated to utilizing the power of photography to further deep thinking, communication, and action. According to the group’s website, its extensive online content and PhotoWings Outreach Programs have a myriad of educational applications and possibilities. Its mission is to highlight and help facilitate the power of photography to influence the world, and help photography to be better understood, created, utilized, seen, and saved.

 

Meanwhile, the Photoville Festival is “New York City’s free, annual premier photo destination,” usually held under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side of the embankment, and now in its ninth year. According to organizers, the festival provides participants with the experience of thought-provoking photography from across the globe – with free admission for all.

In 2020, the event went virtual, and featured public exhibitions, online storytelling events, artist talks, workshops, demonstrations, educational programs, and community programming. The virtual pivot allowed the festival to continue providing an accessible venue for photographers and audiences from every walk of life to engage with each other.

 

Cardenas said anyone who has additional photos of the Aqueduct Walk clean-up event or other historical photos of the Aqueduct Walk can swing by the group’s next event, or drop them off with Angel, one of their members, at the Davidson Community Center located at 2038 Davidson Avenue. Alternatively, they can simply email them to aqueductwalknews@lists.pfcatalyst.org.

In addition to Maschi, some of the other volunteers who joined Cardenas and others on the day were Ken Brown, district manager of Community Board 5, Chef Wilson, Friends of Aqueduct Walk, Renea Bush, Friends of Aqueduct Walk, Jasmin Change of Photoville, and community leader and candidate in the 14th City Council District race, Pierina Sanchez,