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Group to Spruce Up Kew Gardens Park for Springtime

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | April 15, 2014 1:42pm
 Local residents and activists will clean up the park on April 22.
Kew Gardens Cinemas Park
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QUEENS — A local group plans to beautify a Kew Gardens park, which residents say needs to be cleaned up after the long winter months.

The Compost Collective, a Forest Hills-based group of volunteers, will work at Kew Gardens Cinemas Park on Earth Day (April 22).

The work will include cleaning up the space, treating the soil, installing raised beds and planting flowers and plants, including ferns, the group said.

The group will also get help from local teens affiliated with the Kew Gardens Youth Empowerment Program. Residents are welcome to participate as well, said Carlos Pesantes of the Compost Collective.

"Just get ready to get dirty," Pesantes joked.

The group will provide tools and cover the expenses of the cleanup, Pesantes said. 

The park, located on Austin Street, near Kew Gardens Cinemas, belongs to the movie theater. The owner, Harvey Elgart, lets the community use it for various events, including art shows and flea markets, said Carol Lacks, a long-time Kew Gardens resident.

“We don’t have public space in the neighborhood and this is where we organize our community events that bring families together.”

It’s also a place where residents can sit down, chat or read a book, Lacks said.

Elgart said in an email that he welcomes the efforts to clean up the space.

The cleanup will take place on April 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.