Welcome Summer
Welcome Summer
From Friends of Ferry Point Park Group Meeting Hall 724 Brush Avenue, Bronx NY 10465
ELECTION RESULTS: Jan. 1, 2008
Goal: “To restore, preserve, improve,
while creating memories of work, nature, water & fun for new generations.”
Founder/President: “Fairy Godmother” Dorothea Poggi
Vice President: Sal Profita
Historian: Catherine Poggi
Treasurer: Geanine Profita
Secretary: Tara Tocci
Entertainment: Lucia Profita
The original group was the Ferry Point Park Civic Association est.1997
Right now it is confusing,
Friends of Ferry Point Park will spearhead the existing and evolving groups and committees such as:
(photos available under the appropriate buttons)
As we grow, each committee we develop will work along with the different groups to achieve their goals.
The Ferry Point Park West Coalition originally consisted of Jimi Hughes and Dorothea Poggi.
(which was later changed to the Friends of Ferry Point Park (with a FPP West Coalition Committee) in 2006 which did not include Jimi Hughes)
Dorothea worked diligently on organizing a group and creating a Master Plan presenting this plan to the Parks Department and to the Community Board to attempt to have more Parks capital and Com. Bd. Budget funds directed towards the development of this neglected Park. (to no avail)
We were told repeatedly that because this Park was not a neighborhood used Park but instead was used by Adult Soccer Players from Queens we could not get any money to develop it.
In the mean time Jimi Hughes worked with the Parks Department to get 2 BBQ areas put in and some dead trees and limbs removed. Jimi and Dotti joined together to attend many meetings at the Community Board to try again to gain interest in the use of this Park for youth activities and more diversified Sports. During this time there was the horrific attack on the Twin Towers in NYC. Our master plan already asked for a memorial on the Hilltop to commemorate the Revoluntionary War Battle of Weschester Creek in 1776. Of course we decided that this would be a perfect area for a memorial grove to the 9/11 victims because of the wonderful hilltop view of the Manhattan Skyline.
When Parks Department looked for an area to plant a flowering "View shed" grove in each borough, ours was chosen due to the wonderful view and a letter of request which committed Dorothea's Community Group to get volunteers to help with the planting.
During these years Dotti also had the displeasure of having to research and try to bring this information to the public of the ever increasing mounds of construction debris being passed off as a future Golf Course on the East side of this Park.
Dotti tried to bring up the "bad actor" abandonment articles and the fact that the area was not properly capped or lined to prevent underground streams from pushing toxins into the East River and neighborhood back yards and basements Daily. (But to no avail).
After a year of Dorothea developing this group she was ready to form and executive board, incorporate the name, form a 501c3, and start to ask the industry and elected officials to diversify this park with more youth programs. Jimi Hughes did not want to be anything more than the Founder. This was not a group it was a Dictatorship which was not what we planned for so we all determined that it would be best for the Park if we took our group on record (est. 1997 when the Greenway was being planned) and change it to Friends of Ferry Point Park. We did not know how to do this so we just started applying for our events under the new name, created a website with that name, made up new business cards with that name. We held and election with our members to vote in our excecutive board and took it from there. We continued to invite Jimi to our events and he continued to do his thing on his own.
Actually since we were the FP Pk West Coalition minus Jimi and Susan, the F.P.Park West Coalition has been eliminated due to non existance.
2006 Because we were the FP Park W Coalition, we have accepted any left over business through our F.P.Park West Coalition Committee.
We have more groups involved with us than ever before. Instead of 25 volunteers for each event, we now have 100-150 per event.
Dotti, Lucia, Catherine, Geanine, Sal
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Dorothea (Dotti/Dorothy) the founder/Director/ President of Friends of Ferry Point Park
(not private) type of gal, a hardworking Self Employed Sign Person ( for over 27 years).
Formally the Vice President of the Ferry Point Civic Association and now the President of the Ferry Point Community Advocates. As Vice Pres. of the FP Civic Assoc. I had led the fight to stop Iroquois Pipeline from using Ferry Point Park as a staging ground while they planned to wrip up a 30 ft wide path from the Throggs Neck Bridge to Brush Ave.and then through Castle Hill and Soundview, the East River down to Hunts Point Generating Plant.
I am the Dorothea Poggi that the Federal Energy Regulating Comittee had to deal with when one "water" route that was proposed by our Elected Officials really ran through a cummulative distance of 5 1/2 miles through the "Land" of the Bronx. The other "All Water" route would have put this 24 " Natural Gas Pipeline through Ferry Point Park West onto Brush Ave. with 5 dangerous facilities that would have lowered our home values and rendered this commercial and residential neighborhood uninsurable and undesirable in many cases. This 2nd "all water route" had the cummulative distance of 4 1/4 miles through the "Land" of the Bronx.
I grew up near the Park, along the waterfront of Westchester Creek.(more under stories)
I am now a co-founder of a Coalition of Community Groups with total of over 1000 members?
I am now also waiting for a response to my application to be on the Community Board 10
and have recently been voted an acting Director of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality.
Sal enjoys the fresh air and helping with the park. He is frustrated at the lack of response Dotti and Jimi have received from the Community Board and Elected Officials. He feels that we are beating our heads against a wall and are wasting our time. BUT he will help us until we come to our senses and realize that we cannot conquer this problem unless the Elected officials see some benefit for their agendas.
Catherine (my Mom) our Historian, founder of the original Ferry Point Civic Group and long time Community Board 10 Member, grew up in Manhattan and cherished every day of her choice to live in the "Boondocks" "Sticks" on Brush Ave. When it became surrounded by industry she bought a Farm upstate and spent her prolonged 7 month summers up there. Catherine tried to keep this community an accessable Green Belt of Waterfront along the coast up to New Rochelle. She fought to keep this area from becoming encapsulated by industry (much of her paper work is in our Meeting Hall Archives) With all her work she could only slow it down. It is said that her vision had a "Pollyanna" quality to it...she believed that there was hope that the majority of people would realize someday the importance and pleasures of "Green and Water".
Geanine enjoys helping with the park. Has hopes of being part of the transformation of this park to a more useful place for children and elderly. She is also involved with a group that helps cancer patients, and is continuing her education towards child Psychology. Dotti and Geanine hope to have childrens "Safaris" that will help educate children on the habitats of the willife in our parks. Canoe lessons, kayak lessons, this is the perfect place for a calm protected learning area.
Lucia enjoys the fresh air, has a green thumb with plants, makes the best Lasagna and Chicken Soup, indespensible when it comes to our events.
Kristi a newcomer to the group, cheerful and perky...
Jimi co-founder of the desolved FPP West Coalition is no longer associated with us in any way
Susan calm, reliable and steadfast, a great asset to the group will always be welcome.
Our goal is to include as many type people as possible to the list of visitors to this Park..."A Diversified Park for a Diversified Bronx."
If you create a healthy, happy place for the diversified needs of the people of the Bronx, they will become better people for the Bronx.
INTEREST IN THIS PARK:
We have the following groups interested if we get the accomodations needed for their interests.
We are collecting Letters from interested groups and Teams to bring as many Sports and Events into this Park as is feasible.
FRIENDS OF FERRY POINT PARK GROUP:
We are working with Partnerships for Parks and Senator Jeff Klein to develop our "Friends of Ferry Point Park" into a non profit organization that can receive private funding for much needed park restoration and improvements.As of now we have a Fiscal conduit 501c3 that can accept our donations.
* Anyone interested in joining the "Friends of Ferry Point Park" the future non-profit group that will accept donations for the park directly please contact us...at
YES WE ACCEPT DONATIONS!
To be able to offer water, snacks, lunch, tools, mulch, maybe T shirts someday...to our ever increasing volunteers that are helping to rejuvenate this Park. We have been laying out an ever increasing amount of personal money towards this Goal.
If you want to help us to continue our successful work, all checks should be written to our 501c3 fiscal conduit Neighborhood Open Space Coalition. Please indicate Friends of Ferry Point Park on the MEMO: ________ section of the check. We do not accept cash at this point because it seems to complicated to transfer without scrutiny.
Send to 716 Brush Avenue where we will process the check for our records and then forward it to NOSC where we will have access to withdraw from our account for specific purchases. Our records will have receipts (and hopefully a photo of the exact items during use by the volunteers) for any expenditure related to your donation. We will continue to use our out of Pocket Funds until then.
Office 718-892-7303 9am-5pm Dotti or Geanine
Dotti (work) Alpha Art Inc. 24 Hour voicemail 718-892-6863
During event cell: 917-741-2768
FRIENDS OF
Groups we work closely with :
http://www.ferrypointcommunity.org (Ferry Point Community Advocates) (A Civic Association)
http://www.bceq.net (Bronx Council for Environmental Quality) (Bronx Parks Speak Up)
http://www.treebranch.com (Neighborhood Open Space Coalition) (Fiscal Sponsor)
http://www.friendsofbrookpark.org (Brook Park South Bronx) (Community Garden and much more)
Country Club Civic Association
Waterbury Lasalle Civic Asooc.
Throggs Neck Homeowners Assoc.
Locust Point Civic
Edgewater Park Assoc.
Pelham Bay Taxpayers Assoc.
Web design and hosting, weekly column in Bronx Times Reporter
