Cleanup. (Photo: QueensPost)
Oct. 7, 2013 By Christian Murray
More than hundred volunteers turned out under the Sunnyside Arch on Saturday morning to help clean up and beautify Sunnyside’s main business district.
The volunteers picked up garbage and swept the streets between 38th and 50th Streets—in the vicinity of Queens Blvd and Greenpoint Avenue. Furthermore, they planted about 20 daffodil bulbs at each tree pit.
However, before planting, each of the nearly 120 tree pits had to be cleaned and weeded. From there, the dirt had to be softened and mulch put down. Volunteers were also pruning the trees.
“We got an amazing turnout,” said Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who was sweeping Greenpoint Avenue with his staff and a group of NYU students. “It’s good to see so many people looking to beautify the neighborhood–and care for trees.”
The event was managed by Sunnyside Shines, which is in charge of the business improvement district, and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer’s office. Volunteers came from a number of clubs and associations, such as the Sunnyside/Woodside Girl Scouts, Greening Western Queens and New York Cares.
The daffodils are expected to bloom in spring.
Sunnyside Shines has a list of locations where trees need to be planted and is hoping that they will be taken care of soon. It plans to install new tree guards by spring.
Meanwhile, in other news, more than hundred people showed up for an animal adoption event on Saturday at Lou Lodati Park. The event, put on by the Sunnyside United Dog Society, began with Father Brian Dowd of Queen of Angels Church blessing the animals.
One dog was adopted on the day. However, several animals are likely to be adopted once their prospective owner’s application has been checked.
Van Bramer bonded with one of the canines –Lil Ricky—and was pondering whether to adopt him.
Also on Saturday, Sunnyside Gardens Park’s Oktoberfest drew an enormous crowd and was abuzz with activity. Residents took advantage of German cuisine, pumpkin picking and a family oriented arts and crafts show.
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39 Comments
Reuben….be nice…
I put up those signs as reminders to folks to remember to do the right thing, and to educate new SUDS members. From time to time, especially when we have an upcoming event, there are a few more on the fences. If that’s all you got for a quip, we’re doing pretty well.
It’s unfortunate that we need ANY signs, but, you’d be suprised how many people, w/ and w/o dogs, are cluless in the ways of a dog run. For instance, the unsupervised young children (maybe 5 or 6yrs old) that run amok in the lower park and open the gates (leaving them that way, how dogs escape..), racing into the dog run, chasing around dogs, you name it. It’s become MUCH better over the last few months, much rareer now. But, the sign gets used as a teachable moment. Same for any of the other ones.
It’s no different from the street, a school, etc. some people need to be reminded of things. If you don’t like it feel free to donate the $ for an electronic sign that we can have running full time with the same info.
RD
Make a sign saying ” No trolls on the Dog Run” and post it up, there’s a piece of gate exposed that needs to be covered.
@ Sunnysideposthatesme14 – we need another Internet troll like you! Come join us!
SunnysidePostHatesMe14: stop posting here!!!! You are a troll. Go away already!!!!!!!!!!!!
If SunnysidePostHatesme14 hates seeing me on the street corners, why won’t he let me stay with him in his Sunnyside digs? Also, being he talks so much about the south side, why does he insist on hanging out on the north side?
Also, The dog park needs just a few more signs before it starts looking like the damn missing persons wall from 28 days later.
Someone has a lot to say huh?
what happens when the dog dies of complications. Where did that blessing go?
Ruben – if you want to help somebody, why don’t you let Squirts the bum crash on your couch for a little while while he gets back on his feet? You sound like a very selfish, angry man. For those of us who participate in neighborhood beautification projects, clean the poop day around Sunnyside (North side only), animal adoptions, clean the graffiti day, bar owners who raise money for worthy causes, etc. We are the people who support our local neighborhood and who gives back to the community. If you do not attend the local community board meetings and voice your improvements for the neighborhood, your residency here in Sunnyside means nothing. For the longest time, people have always called you a troll on here and they are right…that’s all you are good for. BTW – I am glad that you took time out of your busy schedule to come to our adoption event to view the animal adoption event & animal blessing, something that you perceive is a waste of time. Look who is wasting their time now…
We have another adoption event with Crusade for Cats going on at our SUDS dog run (the small run) on Saturday, 10/12 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM. This event will be showing cats & kittens only. Let’s hope this event goes as well as last Saturday’s adoption event. Hope to see you all there!
Yes Sunnyside Native, and in my spare time I help raise a family of orphan babies from Africa and help nurse baby bald eagles back to health. The fact that you need to throw what you do to help others validates my point . I’m sure you sleep all warm and cozy.
I expect elected officials to be responsible, I don’t need to volunteer my time, My tax dollars and my VOICE are what directs public officials to action. Because you don’t see me in some community board barking at things doesn’t mean my opinion on matters means less than yours you pretentious douche.
And , the fact is many people who live in Sunnyside South don’t choose to live there, they have to, because you yuppies have been part of the reason Sunnyside North rent has gone up so high. I find it highly hypocritical that people claim to do so much for Sunnyside when it’s not really Sunnyside , it’s a few blocks of Sunnyside , over and over and over. Claiming the beautification of an entire neighborhood out of just those few blocks.
I supposed I shouldn’t expect less from people who have their dogs blessed. Yes, I went there. Having your dog blessed by a priest is Stupid, might as well pray for the roaches in your apartment, they are alive as well no?
what a joke. I’m sure God is taking out time from saving people from landslides and famine to help the life of that ugly ass gremlin dog V. Bramer is holding to help him find a loving home.
house of O’shea
I have 2 of my own and currently am fostering kittens – my house is full! lol
SunnysidePostHatesMe14 is an AHOLE! Dogs and Cats are live beings that need love too!
Please excuse my son’s outbursts on this website. He blogs too much on websites. I love him, but there are days when I want to put him over my knee and give him a good spanking! Thanks, Ruben’s Mom.
Ruben – you are so ignorant. I said that people choose to live where they live, North side of Sunnyside, South side of Sunnyside, Astoria, LIC, etc. Humans have free will to make the choice of where they want to live. These dogs & cats fell into their predicament and it is the right thing to do, IMO, as a human being to help find them a home. MY choice. I decide to put my time, money & energy into helping animals. That is and will always be my primary focus. I help St. Jude’s & Children’s Cancer Research Fund by way of monetary donations. You can just sit on your hands in your apartment on the south side of the blvd. and be miserable, trolling on your computer & whining about the homeless guy Squirts. Any person who whines about the things lacking in their neighborhood, but does not attend community board meetings to discuss ways to improve their neighborhood, gets NO sympathy from me. Zero. Zilch. Nada. No sympathy from me. Have you ever thought about helping Squirts the homeless guy get into a homeless shelter? Go spend Thanksgiving at a soup kitchen and help feed the homeless folks, the needs, the less fortunate than you and I. It can’t always be about you, Ruben!
@krissi
U lover of all things cute. U did not adopt a puppy.
What happened?:)
@ Ruben
Sip some hipster-haterade®
Reuben, take half the time/energy you spend bashing everyone and try making a difference with it.
Who gives a crap WHY someone volunteers. While they are out there actually doing something you are sitting @ home doing nothing, well except complaining on this site.
Organize an event. Get some hot meals for the homeless, maybe see what you can do about getting them housing and other assistance.
If kids, homeless are the issues that matter most to you, GET INVOLVED. Your posts make it seem as if you want change, but don’t want to do any work to make it happen.
The people that are involved with dog/cart adoptions give up their free time to get involved with something that matters to them, and for many of them it is not the only volunteering that they do. There are too many dogs/cats because of stupid PEOPLE creating the problem by being irresponsible.
Please enlighten us, what was the last thing you volunteered for. How have you made a difference recently?
Unless your goal is to get people to write to you on this site. If ‘trolling’ is your hobby then you are great at it. Maybe you can take that same energy required to be a troll and focus it on helping someone
More action, less talk.
Sunnyside Native and you are a racist and everyone see’s it. The way you downplayed an entire race of people just because they don’t meet up to your ignorant standards.
Second.. You feeding homeless people isn’t helping a problem it just makes YOU feel good. You’re desperately trying to convince yourself that there’s some meaning to your pitiful existence. It’s also part of the problem.
Thirdly, the support Suds gets for its events and funding is FAR greater than anything done to help the homeless situation in Sunnyside. You cannot dispute that. And my example of the homeless is just that, an example, Sunnyside could be holding events for people who are in need , or get to together to do something about how people can’t find good afterschool options for their kids.
Nope, you infidels just dig your head into that expensive Sunnyside soil and focus on dogs,dogs,dogs… It’s pathetic…
and stop calling me Ruben, it’s SunnysidePostHatesMe14, I wouldn’t give my real name to the pack of maniacs on this forum.
Yes – please check out the adoption event on Saturday, then go to clean up feces on Sunday. I can see Reuben now in overalls on and gloves in hand. Enjoy your Sunday, Reuben! I am going to buy Reuben a pooper scooper, meant solely for Squirts the chaaange bum!
Clean up some of the bums while you’re at it. There’s new ones hangin around White Castle. Word must be gettin around the Sunnyside is a good place for them.
PS: I’ll be scrubbing the #7 viaduct pillars of human excrement on Sunday at 7 am sharp, please join me in beautifying our neighborhood! Please bring rubber gloves and a lot of Dawn. Hope to see you there!
Sunnysideposthatesme14
You do realize the dog adoption was arranged by SUDS and not the elected officials right?
Van Brammer did arrange the neighborhood clean up. Which I think is a great community-based day.
Ruben – you are a joke & everybody knows it. I buy some of our local homeless food, except the Chaaaange homeless guy. This includes Lazlo when you see him, the black homeless guy who holds the door for you at Dunkin Donuts on 46th Street & Queens Blvd. and the white homeless guy who hangs out on 43rd Street & Queens Blvd., by Dime Savings Bank. He has been in the neighborhood for at least a decade. Try a little human empathy…
We have another adoption event going on this Saturday, 10/12. Yup, more help for the animals over humans. Wah! Wah! <– Ruben crying like a baby. See you there, Ruben!
SunnySide Native = Racist. There , Ya’ll see it, I done exposed it.
Attila – You guys talk about improvements to this neighborhood but nobody elected steps up to fix something important like the homeless situation. they set up stupid dog adoption events and focus on the life of an animal instead of the life of a human being. So yeah…call me whatever you want but i’m right. You people are just a bunch of hypocrites living in your own little bubble of sunnyside.
@SSPostHatesMe
Your obsession with the bowel movements of Sunnyside’s most visible homeless person is disturbing.
Ruben – Your comment doesn’t make any sense? The dogs are getting more love than the latinos on the south side? Are you comparing your latino brethren to dogs? Does anybody from the south side attend community board meetings? Not to whine and complain, but to talk about improvements on that side of the blvd.? The dogs were unfortunately put into their life predicament. The latinos choose to live on the south side of the blvd. and anybody who doesn’t attend community board meetings to discuss ways to improve their neighborhood, gets NO sympathy from me.
We need more trees on the south side.
These dogs get more love than the latinos on the South Side.
then again, some of them dogs look better in dresses. HAHAHA, am I right??
in all seriousness…I gotta agree with A-bidge, why do we need volunteers when our tax dollars should be paying for these cleanups. Let’s get some of them convicts over here and start washing down all the shit stains under the 7 train from Squirts the Change Bum.
Those Volunteers should be patrolling the streets looking for that moron ROK who keeps tagging up like its the 90’s all over again.
plus, of course, sunnysidepost:)
RD
It was more than well publicized: w/i the dog run, on 3 radio stations, fb, twitter, our webpage, store fronts with the poster, all area pet stores (w/ the exception of one, we all know which one that is…), word of mouth, what else should we do, get airplanes flying overhead with the info? Maybe you aren’t looking in the right places.
We avoided putting stuff on poles because it looks crappy and they get torn down.
RD
Several dogs and cats will end up getting adopted from the event.
Any responsible dog/cat rescue group does home visits/background checks, which take a few days. The one dog (Oreo) that was adopted Saturday was taken in by a woman that lives just across the street, so the visit was easy and being a long time SUDS member she had all of us to vouch for her. Not sure where you learned math. 1 dog in 8 was adopted, maybe its time for a refresher class @ PS 150?
RD
Fair enough then. Thanks for the coverage.
Bystander.
There was a write up done earlier in the week that focused solely on SGP’s Oktoberfest event. That was not the case with the cleanup.
http://sunnysidepost.com/2013/10/03/sunnyside-gardens-parks-popular-oktoberfest-to-take-place-saturday/
Excuse me, your bias is showing.
Members of this community work for months to throw an enormous, open-to-everyone family event and you give it 50 words at the end of a story about something else. When it has a small, small, small part in a big budget you tweeze it out and headline it. Nice.
HOLD THE PHONE!?
RICK IS A DOG?!
This makes me feel very happy and warm inside, just to know our residents are contributing to a better neighborhood. I wish them good luck and many thanks to those residents who choose to have Sunnyside, Queens back to the way it was by restoring its real beauty, looks, and representation of what a neighborhood is literally like. I hope this type of support continues for a very long time and it will never end.
P.S.: Can this please be done all over the neighborhood instead of business districts? It would be very nice for something like that to happen.
Glad to see the effort being made to get these dogs adopted into good homes. If you’re thinking of getting one, please consider a rescue dog and don’t buy one from a pet store.
A-bridge
Well, with all due respect for the adoption event, it wasn’t well publicized. I only heard about it through this site. But hey, 1 dog adopted is better than no dogs adopted!
They also built some very nice flower beds and placed them on the 43rd st side of the Sunnyside library.
So a hundred volunteers doing what our taxes should be doing (keeping the streets clean!) and a 1% dog adoption rate. Meanwhile, everyone else went and got drunk, leaving the do-gooders to clean up and not adopt dogs. What a worthwhile weekend, I feel trully warm and fuzzy.
Wow, lots of stuff going on and I wasn’t around this weekend hehehe!
We always try to do the clean up. I suggest it for everyone 🙂