A couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with CPF Sports Coordinator Burt Rosen at the CPF Sports Office in Flushing, where he works. At the age of 80, Burt is a natural comedian, and story-teller. Having worked for City Parks Foundation for 18 years, he is an integral part of the CPF Sports community, helping to coordinate CPF Sports activities throughout all five boroughs, while maintaining a friendly face in the office.

While Burt has become an avid tennis player in recent years, as a child, it was his least favorite sport, sitting on the bench in boredom when he would go with his friends to play. Instead, Burt participated in nearly every other neighborhood sport, his favorite being basketball. “I was a star,” he explains, laughing. “It’s an action game. It’s a running game, and it’s a little bit of contact,” he continues, mentioning that he would get himself into trouble from time to time for being too rough.

After retiring from textiles in 1995, Burt decided to give tennis another shot, and began taking adult classes at the National Tennis Center to fill the time. After a few classes, Burt decided to join an adult league. “I joined the league because I could hit the ball now. I wasn’t a tennis player. I could hit the ball, but that’s about it. So now I’ve been playing for 18 years. Now I consider myself a star,” he asserts. At this point, Burt was playing three to four hours of tennis a day.

Until one day, he entered the office in which he now works to get a permit to play. “Wrong office,” a woman at the front desk told him. Burt turned around to walk out, but as he was leaving, he overheard our CPF Director of Sports, Mike Silverman, on the phone, explaining that they need a senior to open up in the mornings. “They don’t sleep!” Burt recalls Mike saying. Hearing this, Burt marched right to the back of the office and knocked on Mike’s door.

“They sent me for the job,” he announced to Mike.

“Who sent you?”

“The people on the phone!” Burt responded.

“What do you know about tennis?”

“You wear sneakers. You wear whatever you want,” he asserted.

Burt has been working for CPF Sports ever since. His sense of humor continues to charm CPF employees, and the CPF athletes he interacts with on a daily basis.

Burt steals the show at a CPF party!

Working out of our office in Flushing, Burt does everything from answering phones and questions about CPF Sports activities, to assigning and organizing people on the tennis courts. He used to go to the CPF Sports sites to check in, and make sure the programs are running smoothly, but now his work remains primarily in the office, making his face shown, and getting to know the tennis regulars, many of whom he used to play with. Everyone from the seniors to the young CPF athletes know Burt, walking into the office with a friendly, “Hi Burt! How have you been?”

For the most part, Burt enjoys the relaxing environment of the CPF Sports Office, but of course every job comes with his downsides, to include calling security on stubborn court poachers. But Burt laughs about these experiences, taking pleasure in the comedy they seem to bring to the job. “It’s a nice job,” Burt says. “You meet nice people.”

Burt also takes pleasure in the opportunity CPF Sports brings to young athletes. His favorite CPF program is Track & Field, because the diversified exercise and constant activity make it a very healthy sport. “It’s so good for the kids,” he explains.

In his years at CPF, Burt has watched many young athletes excel into talented and motivated adults, a few even working with Burt in the Sports Office as an afterschool job, and using their experience and practice with CPF Sports to apply for college scholarships. One particular talented and hardworking young girl would come to the courts every day to play with anyone she could, developing skill that would later transfer to Ivy League level tennis. But what Burt valued most was not just her athletic skill, but her academic ambition as well, bringing in Word of the Day flash cards for Burt to quiz her. After many years at CPF, Burt has developed a number of connections like these, taking great pride in the accomplishments of these motivated young athletes.

While less than he used to, Burt continues to play tennis every winter, about three days a week, along with swimming on occasion (but only if the water is 90 degrees!), and golf (“I taught Mike Silverman golf. Truth. Put that in the report!”). While perhaps tennis seemed boring initially, Burt has developed a real passion for the sport that contributes to the general excitement he has for his job.

“I love the game,” he explains. “Tennis is something you can play your whole life. I don’t know if you see the pros on television. I don’t run like they do. And I don’t hit like they do, but it’s a great game. You play your whole life.”

Volunteers are the unsung heroes of a neighborhood; they work behind the scenes and often do not get the praise they deserve for all their hard work. The locals of Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan is just one of the many communities that have benefited from generous, hard-working individuals like Chana Widawski.

In Mathews-Palmer Playground, located between 45^th and 46^th streets (between 9^th and 10^th avenues) in Midtown, Manhattan, Chana and others in the community have been heavily involved in volunteer projects to improve the park. Chana first got involved in the group about eight years ago, when she proposed an idea to screen films in the playground. This single idea eventually blossomed into a film series in the park that is offered in both the fall and spring seasons!

Chana is the Vice President of the West 45^th Street Block Association, and a steward for Mathews-Palmer Playground. In conjunction with the 46^th Street Block Association, these volunteers have made tremendous improvements in the neighborhood park. There is a group of about eight volunteers and five core group members involved at Mathews-Palmer Playground, which continues to grow.

Her fellow volunteers at last year’s It’s My Park Day

Currently the group is working on building a more involved, interconnected community setting at the park. Their impact has resulted in various programs and projects like yoga classes, performances by local talent in poetry and dance, and basketball tournaments. The group has also been involved in painting and transforming playground equipment into a true work of art, restoring a historic mural, and putting on Hell’s Kitchen SummerFest, featuring performances by Rosie’s Broadway Kids and other fun activities for the community.

Another volunteer, making Mathews-Palmer Playground beautiful!

May 19, 2012 is New York City’s annual It’s My Park Day, provided by Partnerships for Parks. For this fun, exciting event, the group at Mathews-Palmer Playground will provide a free yoga workshop (Yoga in the Kitchen) and other fun activities like planting and gardening and a park cleanup.

Yoga in the Kitchen

“When one person volunteers and acts on an idea, it opens up a world of possibilities and inspires others to do the same. Showing West Side Story on the park wall was at first just a small idea, and has blossomed into a full blown film series. Now, we also host live performances, a bicycle “ride-in” movie and an environmental documentary. We think of our park as an outdoor community center and see it as a vehicle for everything from arts to fitness to a place to connect with neighbors. I feel blessed to have a home in the heart of New York City, and am committed to working with other community groups to strengthen and advocate for our vibrant residential neighborhood.  We can’t emphasize enough how important the shared open space of Mathews-Palmer Playground is for our community, both for generations past and as we look to the future” says Chana Widawski, Vice President of the West 45^th Street Block Association, and steward for Mathews-Palmer Playground.

Fun festivities in the park thanks to Chana and other volunteers

Each It’s My Park Day, thousands of New Yorkers come together to volunteer and celebrate their neighborhood parks and public spaces throughout the five boroughs. On Saturday, May 19, 2012, Partnerships for Parks’ hallmark volunteer event It’s My Park Day, invites Manhattan residents to join in local volunteer projects and free cultural events in their neighborhood parks.

Registration is not required – simply find a local park that is hosting an It’s My Park Day activity and show up on that day. It’s My Park Day is a great opportunity to meet local park groups that need year-round help from caring neighbors like you!

For more information on how to get involved in your local park, visit www.itsmypark.org.

This past Sunday, April 22, thousands of New York City runners came out to Central Park to celebrate Earth Day and support their parks in the 20^th annual 4 mile Run for the Parks.

Presented in partnership with the New York Road Runners, this New York City Marathon qualifying race has the distinction of being the largest one-day running event in Central Park, and kicks off the running season in New York City. Proceeds help CPF present free, high-quality sports and fitness programs in parks across the city.

Runners gathered at the start on East Drive at 68^th Street, and took off running at 8 AM, after a warm welcome from CPF president Alison Tocci. “The money we raise today goes to benefit free programs all over the city,” she announced to the crowd before the start. With unprecedented numbers of people running this year (7,303 total finishers, including 3,835 men and 3,468 women), racers spilled through the start, with the first runners finishing before some had even begun!

and they're off!

Starting the race with a smile!

While we were expecting heavy rains, the storm held off until after the race, and the conditions remained chilly, but dry as our runners circled the four-mile “inner” loop through the park, and broke through the finish line on the 72^nd Street Transverse. Here, runners could grab their water and bagels and head over to the Bandshell for the awards ceremony and other festival activities. With music playing, and excited family and friends cheering on the runners, the energy was tangible, and the endorphins were high!

Here comes first finisher NYRR's Ro Crispin!

Receiving awards for the race were the top three male and female racers, who were called onto the stage after the race for photographs. NYRR’s Ro Crispin, this year’s top finisher, crossed the line with a time of 20:26, followed by Feyisa Russe of West Side Runners in second (20:44) and Matt Chaston of Urban Athletics in third (20:48). This year’s top female runner was Jeanna Composti of the New York Athletic Club (NYAC) who came in at 23:29, followed by Jane Maxwell, also running for NYAC in second (24:09), and Morgan Anderson in third (24:17). Big congrats to these speedy racers!

Awards ceremony for the top female finishers!

Awards ceremony for the top male finishers!

An hour after the start of the adult race, a crowd gathered to watch and cheer on hundreds of kids ages 2-12 participate in their own friendly competition at the always entertaining kids’ races. The tensions were high as the 2 year olds gathered at the start of their roughly 10 yard race, a few plopping down or wandering off the course just a few steps in, followed by the other age groups, each running a little bit further than the group before them. The turnout for the kids’ races was great. We even had to split up some of the age groups for multiple starts! After crossing the finish line, the kid racers were awarded ribbons for their participation; it was great to see all the smiling faces.

The tensions are high as the two year old racers go for the gold!

Back at the bandshell area, music was still pumping, clowns were busy making balloon animals for the kids, and the post-race runners were mingling and dancing as we got ready to announce the winners of the race raffle, which gave away a SummerStage membership pass. During all of the morning activities, we kept health in mind with complementary blood pressure screenings at the North Shore-LIJ tent, and free granola bars and juice from the Odwalla tent.  Meanwhile, we were having a great time at the purple CPF tent, signing people up for their chance to win US Open tickets, whose winners were announced on Tuesday via email.

Throughout the day, I was fortunate enough to be able to dart around throughout the race, tweeting updates and live photos from the adult race and the kids’ races, seeing a little bit of everything and picking up on the excitement! You can check out our live tweets and photos from the race on out twitter @CPFNYC.

Thanks to everyone that came out and ran, supported their friends and family, and a BIG thanks to mother-nature for holding off on the rain until the race was over!

We’re already looking  forward to next year’s race!  

Rules and Regulations:

1. Participation is limited to performers between the age of 13 and 18 (if not yet graduated from high school). We want to encourage the expression of talent of young people, but recognize that talent tends to mature over time.

2. Contestants are only allowed one entry in one category per season.

3. The Performance Categories that students have to choose from include the following:

• Vocal (solo, duet, ensemble)

• Instrumental (solo, duet, ensemble)

•  Theater/Drama (monologue, scene, spoken word, poetry, stand‐up, magic, etc.)

• Dance (solo, partners, ensemble)

NOTE: Performances are not limited to those listed in parenthesis. Event organizers reserve the right to determine which performance category acts best fit into.

4. Prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will be awarded across all performance categories. The purpose of prizes is to reward the talented young performers for their efforts, to encourage them to pursue their dreams and to help them further their study of the arts.

7. It is strongly recommended that an act run no more than 3 minutes. Under no circumstances may an act run more than 5 minutes. ACTS RUNNING OVER 5 MINUTES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED! The act is timed from the first vocal expression in any vocal category; the first body movement in any dance category; and the first musical sound in any instrumental category.

8. Contestants must present themselves to event coordinators an hour before the program commences.

9. In the Vocal category, instrumental accompaniment by the person in the act or others is allowed, but is not judged. It must assume the pure character of accompaniment. The test shall be whether the performance would stand alone. NOTE: CD back‐up may be used. Please label each CD with the performer’s name, the number of the track to be played, and the track title. We cannot be responsible for any CD which is not picked up following your performance.

10. No voice or voices or synthesized vocal utterance may be used for accompaniment by contestants entered in the Vocal categories. This includes recorded live voices and voices that are produced and recorded synthetically. (i.e. synthesizers or digitally sampled.)

11. In the Instrumental categories, live or taped accompaniment is allowed but must assume the pure character of accompaniment. The test shall be whether the performance would stand alone. The use of any instrument(s) being judged is not allowed. In the use of any electronic keyboard, no pre-programmed music is allowed; the contestant must create all sound live on stage.

12. In the Dance category, accompanists are permitted on stage, but must not assume visual importance in the performance. There must be no taps or blatant tap effects on a taped recording by a dancer.

13. In the Vocal and/or Instrumental category, any combination or vocal and/or instrumental performance will be accepted, including bands with or without vocals. In this case the entry will only be adjudicated in the contestant’s chosen category.

14. The simple standard that we believe can be fairly applied regarding appropriateness is the following: The lyrics, actions, and dress code of any entry must comply with all good policies for student conduct. In other words, performers may not sing about, discuss, or pantomime any activity that students could not actually say or do on school grounds.

15. City Parks Foundation/NYC Parks & Recreation is not responsible for theft/damage or injury of any kind, to persons or instruments, props, clothing etc., during, before or after the performance.

15. City Parks Foundation/NYC Parks & Recreation holds the right to use contestant’s name and/or photo for any further publicity purposes.

16. Contestants will be judged on the following basis: Presentation, 25%; Creativity, 25%; Clarity, 25% and Relevance, 25%. During the preliminary reviews contestants are scored solely by the judges. They will be evaluated on how the act would be received by an appropriate, impartial audience in an appropriate setting, and is not based on the size or enthusiasm of an act’s “fan club”.

After only five days of hard work, the roof went up!

The next day, the stage was built!

Frontal view, day 7

Day 9 - You can see where the speakers will hang from the roof and the poles for the stage lights!

Here you can see the crew painting the beams on day 11

Just after 12 days of work, can you believe it?!

Keep checking back for more updates on the stage build and this year’s SummerStage festival!

This is what Rumsey Playfield looks like all winter

The build began on Monday, April 2^nd with the crew unloading materials and equipment so they could start working. Look at all the work they got done in just a couple of days!

Day 1 of the build! Lots of progress made!

Day 2, the roof is growing...

Continuing to work through the week, the crew worked on setting up the roof of the stage. Beams were added everyday to the roof until the fourth day when the beams left the ground.

Some of the crew working hard on day 3

Day 4 and the roof is up off the ground!

Even with all this progress, there is still much to be done. The crew will be hard at work throughout the next few weeks in order to get ready for the first performance at the venue. The SummerStage festival kicks off in the beginning of June, giving the workers ample time to finish the build!

Make sure to follow along as we document the build. Lots of daily photos are uploaded to the SummerStageNYC instagram page, as well as to our twitter page. Every Friday, photos will be uploaded to our Facebook page as well, so be sure to check it out!

On Thursday, March 15, City Parks Foundation hosted the annual Senior Fitness Banquet: an event held to celebrate the free programming for those over 60 and raise money to fund it. At 6PM, City Parks Foundation board members, employees, and supporters shuffled in to B.B. Kings Restaurant & Blues Club in Times Square in lieu of a great night ahead.

From left: Virginia Wade, David Moore, Alison Tocci

Trustee David Pinter welcomes the guests

After guests had drinks in hand and hors d’oeuvres were served, City Parks Foundation President, Alison Tocci shared a few words of welcome and gratitude. Subsequently, Vice President of the Board of Directors, David Pinter spoke on behalf of the CityParks Senior Fitness program. Pinter graciously thanked the guests for their generosity and support in providing tennis, yoga and walking classes to seniors in the NYC area.

NETSational Senior Dance Team

Then it was time for some entertainment; first up: the NETSational Senior Dancers. Decked out in b-ball attire, Edie, 25 Cent, Lil Joan, Big Rog, Jeannie, Joe B, and Mike took over the dance floor with an inexplicably awesome routine. If you try to imagine a group of 60+ dancers grooving to a mash-up of Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby” and LMFAO’s “I’m Sexy and I Know It,” you probably are not doing it justice.

Lester Holt, Woody Mann, David Pinter

In action

After the dancers cleared the stage, David Pinter said a few more words and then invited Woody Mann and Lester Holt up to the stage to perform for the next hour or so. As the trio jammed out, guests enjoyed a buffet and sized up the silent auction. With one of a kind artifacts like a helmet signed by the entire Giants team, autographed Billy Joel, Jerry Seinfeld, and Johnny Depp posters, a SummerStage membership, or a Florida getaway, the table was hard to resist.

Enjoying a free massage

The silent auction table

The night was short and sweet, providing the perfect thank you to City Parks Foundation supporters. The slideshow of happy, active seniors showed the guests just how meaningful their contributions are, and recruited others to participate in the program. CityParks Senior Fitness provides free programming to 750 senior citizens annually throughout the five boroughs in tennis, yoga, and fitness walks.

For more information on CPF’s free programs, visit http://www.cityparksfoundation.org/

Within the last few years, popularity in yoga as a healthy exercise program has skyrocketed, and not just for the younger demographic. Yoga programs are frequented more and more by people of all ages striving to become healthier, relaxed, holistic human beings.

While yoga benefits all, young and old, the benefits could be considered more pertinent for seniors. City Parks Foundation is one of the many organizations that offers a senior fitness program to anyone over 60 years old in the New York City area, the difference between them being that CityParks Senior Fitness is completely FREE!

-          Studies indicate that yoga can help prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s, and type II diabetes

-          Physiological and psychological health benefits including:

• Decreased blood pressure
• Increased respiratory efficiency
• Improved musculoskeletal flexibility and range of motion
• Improved posture
• Increase in strength and resiliency
• Improved immune function
• Decrease in pain
• Improved stomatic and kinesthetic awareness
• Increased steadiness
• Improved depth perception
• Improved balance
• Improved integrated functioning of body parts

If you, or someone you know is interested, check out http://cityparksfoundation.org/senior_fitness.html for more information!

Resources: here and here

Spring is in full flower at this popular event that supports City Parks Foundation, the only independent nonprofit organization to present free arts, sports & fitness, education, and community-building programs across all five boroughs of New York City. Bring the whole family—there are kids’ races and a post-race celebration for everyone. If you love NYC parks, this event is for you.

Sign ups are already open on our website: http://nyrr.org/run-with-us/city-parks-foundation-run-for-the-parks-4m

Hurry up and get your spot in the race!

DATE:
Sunday, April 22, 2012 8:00am

LOCATION:
Manhattan

RACE TYPES:
Both Men and Women
Family
Marathon Qualifier
Scored

For more information, visit our website:

http://nyrr.org/run-with-us/city-parks-foundation-run-for-the-parks-4m

We look forward to seeing you there!

Who:

• You and your company!
• Previous participants include co-ed teams from HBO, Deloitte, Marsh & McLennan, TD Waterhouse, Barclays Capital, and ING

What:

• The competition is in TEAMTENNIS format:
  • A minimum of four players (two men and two women) and a maximum of ten
  • Teams play once a week
  • Play consists of five “no-ad” sets: one set each of men’s and women’s singles and doubles and one set of mixed doubles
  • A tennis party and awards ceremony is held for all players at the end of the season
  

  A group of past participants, enjoying the competition

Why:

• Provide your company with team and relationship building opportunities
• All proceeds from the event will benefit City Parks Foundation in providing free tennis instruction to underprivileged youth
• Your company’s donation is also 80% tax-deductible

Where:

• Indoor  games: the CityView Racquet Club

• Outdoor games: the Central Park Tennis Center

When:

• Registration closes April 16^th
• Runs for eight weeks beginning April 27^th and concluding June 22^nd

For information, please call: (718)760-6986 or email: mlippert@CityParksFoundation.org
Visit our website at http://cityparksfoundation.org/sports/corporate_tennis.html