The nice weather was slow in arriving, but the Juniors were busy anyway. Early May saw the JJrs out removing graffiti in a cleanup organized by Chief James Tuller of Borough Command, Queens North.
With the great officers of the 104 Precinct, Sgt. John Ruis, PO Jackie Markowski, PO Rafael Jimenez and Borough Command Officer Centeno, the Juniors painted over graffiti at the Metro Deli at Metropolitan Ave and 71st Street. Then, the Juniors painted a private garage on 74th and Juniper Valley Road.
The Juniors were disappointed that Chief Tuller failed to stop by for a visit with the Juniper Juniors while they worked. It was he who organized the cleanup, and the Juniors never fail to show up for any cleanup.
The following Saturday found the Juniper Juniors in Juniper Park for a spring planting project celebrating “My Parks Day”. So the JJrs replanted daffodils at the southwestern entrance to the park, and added some colorful flowers to the arrangement. With Juniper Park officials, we planned a number of parks projects at Juniper Park in the coming months, up to the start of winter.
At our latest general meeting, Erin Krebs – one of the younger Juniors – suggested that one Parks project should be the planting of a “Juniper Juniors Tree” in Juniper Park, complete with a plaque and a space surrounding the tree for planting flowers. All members present agreed that this is a terrific idea, and we should start promptly.
On June 5th, the Juniors will meet at the home of Mr. Michael Fordunski, a JPCA member from Maspeth. The Juniors will be painting over graffiti at about twenty locations within two blocks of Mr. Fordunski’s home. The JJrs and the JPCA thank Mr. Fordunski for identifying the locations, obtaining needed waivers, and, most of all, supplying the brushes, paint and other supplies needed to do the project.
City Council Member Dennis Gallagher organized this Council District-wide cleanup, and hopes that with many volunteers from all over the district, a large amount of graffiti can be cleaned up.
The next general meeting of the Juniper Juniors will be held on Tuesday, June 22, starting at 7PM at Architots, 64-64 Dry Harbor Road, Middle Village. Thanks again to the folks at Architots for their repeated generosity. Are you interested in having your youngsters participate? Visit that evening. Our members participate in useful civic activities.
