After a sleepy summer amid scaffolding, we’re planning for a busy autumn, starting with a “Meet and Greet: this Saturday to get acquainted. Join FDHP directors at the entrance dome on 2nd Avenue and learn about volunteer opportunities. Match your interests and skills to FDHP programs.

With the garden closed  for construction, park beautification will focus on the plaza’s trees and tree beds, plant containers, clean-ups and autumn leaf raking. 

We also need help with events, mailings, data entry, tech and IT assistance, tabling at greenmarket and street fairs, advocacy, photography and reporting.

If you have special skills, be sure to let us know!

Please RSVP to Tricia with text 347 266 0923 if you  plan to attend or have questions. 

CAN’T ATTEND BUT WANT TO VOLUNTEER?

Even if you already volunteer with Friends and/or signed up, please take a moment  to fill out the volunteer application on FDHP website so we can match your current availability and interests to our needs. 

CLICK ON LINK:  my volunteer info

Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization. Healthy parks make healthy neighborhoods. 

Penelope’s art is now on view on the Plaza’s bulletin board near the entrance dome. As the winner in the age 5-9 to category, she and her friends will celebrate with a cupcake party in in the park.

Celebrate Katharine Hepburn’s Birthday with free cake, coffee and live music at our annual garden party in Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, Saturday, May 11, 1PM to 3 PM. (RAINDATE, Sat. May 25) Look for the tents at west end of Dag Plaza near Second Avenue entrance dome. 

Peter & the Master Keys will perform swing band favorites from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Wear your spring hat and dancing shoes. Meet you neighbors and city officials.

Volunteers  from NYU Langone Health/Tisch Hospital and Bahá’í International Community, UN office, planted hundreds of Impatiens, attended to tree beds, pruned and spruced up the plaza during Earth Week. So even with the  scaffolding, we’re ready to party! 

The tradition of celebrating Kate’s birthday (May 12,1907) started in 1997 when the park’s garden was dedicated to the famous actress for her role as a good neighbor who joined forces with the Turtle Bay Association to preserve the neighborhood’s charming character and fight for the trees on East 49th Street, now known as Katharine Hepburn Way. 

The event is co-presented by Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and the Turtle Bay Association in cooperation with NYC Parks & Recreation. 

Children’s environmental awareness starts at home. Join the celebration of Earth Day with this family-friendly project. All children age 1-13 are invited to enter and share their thoughts about Earth Day.   No entry fee.  You may use any medium (paint, crayons, collage. It is up to you. 

• Deadline April 15, 2023. 
• One entry per person. 
• 9 X11 Inches or smaller to fit in the Plaza’s  display cabinet bulletin board. 
• Winners notified by email and announced  on our website by April 22. 
• Take a photo of your art and upload it using the Entry Form below.

ENTRY FORM.

The barrier fence installed smack in the middle of Dag Plaza by 333 E. 46th Street for repair work on its rear facade has now delayed the park’s capital renovation for one month as DOB, DPR and the architect for the residential building wrestle with how to come to terms with this collision of agencies. The Department of Parks (DPR) was blindsided by the installation when the building’s management failed to inform DPR and work out a feasible solution for a safety fence. DOB permits are posted on the lobby entrance, but not on the scaffolding and barrier fence. (scroll down, please)

All the buildings overlooking the park’s retaining wall have required repairs to their rear facades and even demolition and construction (UAE), but NEVER BEFORE has any safety fencing extended beyond the line of the Plaza’s seating wall. In fact, this photo shows a prior safety barrier for repair work ON THE SAME BUILDING. The fence followed the line of seating wall between the two center fountains. It was winter, and Friends decorated the green panels with stencils of white birch trees and red cardinals.

Midtown East parkland is characterized by plazas and esplanades with gardens and river views, BUT a paucity of lawns. The latest casino pitch for the 6.7 acre site on 1st Avenue between 38th and 41st Street offers 4.5 acres of  lawn and recreation  with  the  casino and parking located underground, accessible from FDR Drive. Another sweetener in the package is a recently introduced community reinvestment fund amounting to $5 million annually or 2 percent of net profits from the casino, whichever is larger, no strings attached. A museum,  a hotel, condominium and rental towers flank the public greenspace  with retail on the ground floor of the 5-star hotel. 

What about public housing? The  Sololiev Group has committed to 513 units of affordable housing made economically  possible by the Mohegan-operated casino and integrated into one of two residential towers. As a result of c ommunity groups, including MECA and St. Vartan Park Conservancy, engaging in dialogue with the developer, the original proposal has evolved into a more innovative landscape design.  

Who Decides? In order to advance to the state level in March, the Sololiev Group proposal requires support from two-thirds of a Community Advisory Committee comprised of the Governor, the Mayor,  NY State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, Manhattan  Borough President Mark Levine  and Council Member  Keith Powers. So three  of six negative votes kill the plan.  

FDHP is  keeping a close eye on what the  proposal offers in terms of privately maintained green public space with public access.  As the period of public engagement draws to a close with developers vying for one of the three downstate casino licenses, the latest version  of “Freedom Plaza” calls for close examination.

Each year, we hold the Annual Meeting for FDHP members to elect our organization’s Officers and Directors. Join us to celebrate a year of stellar achievements and a look at what’s to come. Hear from local officials and NYPD about their initiatives to improve and protect public space, the environment and public health.

RENOVATION STARTS IN SPRING The construction contract for Dag Plaza’s renovation (Phase 1) has been awarded with work scheduled to begin spring 2024. This major overhaul of the fountains, masonry, electrical systems and other infrastructure would not have happened without Friends’ tireless advocacy, working with CB6, City Council and NYC Parks & Recreation.

IT’S YOUR TURN! Renew your commitment to a safe and inviting park, meet your neighbors and learn how you can help beautify and preserve Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. Only by building a broad base of support can Friends sustain all that we do: organizing events, tending the garden, addressing security and service gaps, and advocating for a fair share of government resources.

Many thanks for being a generous Friend of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza and its Katharine Hepburn Garden.

If you cannot attend, please vote by proxy by using the attached letter or web link.

CLASS OF 2024 AS PROPOSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

PRESIDENT: Sherrill Kazan VICE PRESIDENTS: Lesley Nan Haberman, Michael Resnick
TREASURER: Consuelo Gallego
SECRETARY: Linfei Yang
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT: Anne Hersh
DIRECTORS (VOTING)
Kyle Athayde
Kim Baker
Meryl Brodsky
Paul Crawford
Bradley Frederick
Bozena Massey
Tricia Striano Skoler

Oktoberfest will take place from 1PM to 4 PM on SUNDAY 10/22 due to Saturday’s gloomy rain forecast. Dress warm for a windy October day and enjoy pumpkin painting, balloon artist, face painter and chocolate wheel. Experience Dag Plaza’s transformation to a country farm with hundreds of  pumpkins, witchy corn stalks and hay bales. Kids and pets parade in costume, sure to make you smile! 

We  welcome the Vanderbilt YMCA as our partner for this community event. 

HELP WITH OKTOBEFEST: Volunteer Call 

On SUNDAY morning at 10 AM, help decorate for Oktoberfest and plant  mums.  Later, at 1 PM help out at the  pumpkin painting tables. To  lend a hand, email fdhp@hammarskjoldplaza.org. with your contact information and arrival time. 

Corina Bartra  returns with a full orchestra following her popular sextet in July, with a new take on the sensual rhythms of Peruvian-Afro Jazz.  Enjoy  cool breezes in Dag Plaza with a lovely garden to explore.

Corina Bartra is a singer, composer, orchestra leader and recording artist. She is widely known in jazz circles as an acclaimed pioneer of Afro-Peruvian jazz with infusions of Latin trends. Download  the attached flyer and bring your friends.