Kids Discovery Garden Launch

You are never too young or too old to learn about edible plants. Volunteers are  transforming  the cafe’s rubber-tire planters into a garden for children and adults to learn about soil, roots and shoots. The garden will consist of 6 planters when the 4 sessions are completed and culminate with an Alice In Wonderland-Mad Hatter Tea Party picnic!  Coordinated by FDHP Urban Ecologist Bradley Frederick and Garden Chair Anne Hersh with support from Lesley Nan Haberman and The Family School. Photos by Jon Scarlet. 

See calendar for sessions scheduled for May. 

  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photo by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.
  • Photos by Jon Scarlet.

Katharine Hepburn Birthday Celebration

Celebrate Katharine Hepburn’s Birthday with free cake, coffee and live music at our annual garden party in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Saturday, May 10, 1PM to 3 PM. (RAINDATE, Sunday. May 11) Look for the tents at center of Dag Plaza.

Peter & the Master Keys perform swing-band favorites from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Peter sings vocals and plays bass. This band is a crowd pleaser. 

Wear your spring hat and dancing shoes. Meet your neighbors and city officials. 

In Loving Memory of Mildred Margiotta

A funeral mass for family and friends of  Mildred Margiotta  (August 8, 1929 – February 13, 2025) will be held at 10:30 AM, Thursday, Feb. 20th at Church of the Holy Family, 315 East 47th Street. Following the mass,  a graveside service at 12:15 PM will be held at St. Raymond’s Cemetery, 2600 Lafayette Avenue, Bronx, NY 10465. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Calvary Fund Inc. of Calvary Hospital. 

Please scroll to link at bottom for obituary, to share photos and condolences. 

A legacy of community service and advocacy 

“Millie” Margiotta touched many lives through her tireless service to the community, serving  for decades as Vice President of the Turtle Bay Association (TBA) and subsequently joining the board of Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. Manhattan Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura remembers Millie from bygone days as staffers for Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. Millie also served on the 17th Precinct Community Council and as an auxiliary police officer. 

Champion of park reconstruction and Katharine Hepburn Garden

Millie championed the park’s reconstruction and masterminded the dedication of its garden to Katharine Hepburn, working  with Hepburn’s family attorney,  park architect George Vellonakis, and NYC Parks Department to honor the famous actress as a neighborhood preservationist. The wall plaques and stepping stones engraved with quotes and images of Hepburn films add to the rich legacy she leaves behind along with TBA’s long-standing tradition of erecting a big Christmas tree in Hammarskjold Plaza. 

A park bench plaque will be unveiled when we honor Millie at the Katharine Hepburn Garden Party in May and share memories, partnering with the Turtle Bay Association in cooperation with NYC Parks & Recreation.  

We share a deep sense of loss with her many friends and family, in particular Kathy Wnuk, close neighbor and owner of Salon Amichi who has watched over Millie and kept us informed. 

Read the full obituary, share condolences and photos. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/new-york-ny/mildred-margiotta-12246144

Photo caption (L) Millie Margiotta with former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, TBA volunteers Bunny Blei and Ethel Bendove. (Center) Millie unloads plants for Katharine Hepburn Garden (R) Millie with police officer in Dag Plaza.

Oktoberfest 2024

Oktoberfest was really Fun!! Thank you to all the families who joined, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! Follow us on our Social Media! *You can see the photos in the Photo Galleries or just click on the Title above.

BLACKOUT in Dag Plaza, Urgent Call for Service!

Friday the 13th, a lunar eclipse, conspiracy? It’s anybody’s guess why the park and street lamps  failed to come on at dusk, cloaking the entire park block in darkness. 

FDHP director Kim Baker reported the total blackout on 9/13  to Parks Manager Shena Kaufman and filed a 311 complaint ticket. Six days later, the park block was still  cloaked in darkness. When  we learned that DOT maintains  all  lamps and that  standard wait time can be a week to 15 days, we sent out an SOS. Many thanks to 17th Precinct Captain Maggie Clamp, Manhattan Parks Chief of Staff Steve Simon, and Patrick Hill, Community Liaison FOR CM Keith Powers, who raised the clarion  call  for immediate attention. 

Now we wait as this UN gateway goes into lockdown and heads of state attend the 79th session of the UNGA. 

Scaffolding…we’re fed up! 

We continue to voice the community’s outrage and disgust for derelict conditions under the scaffolding and inside the green barrier safety fence as well as the loss of public space. Orsid NY, the management company for 333 E. 46th Street, bears responsibility for the mess. 

Once again we pressed Park officials to provide a removal date for the scaffolding erected by 333 E. 46th Street for DOB ordered facade repairs, and once again, we were told that attorneys are close to an agreement for replacement scaffolding inside the garden.The building’s management company is required to submit plans for the replacement scaffolding to DOB.