City to Prune Oval

By HUNG TRAN

Residents of the Norwood community can expect to see an arboreal improvement in the Williamsbridge Oval Park in the upcoming months thanks to a $10,000 grant from the David L. Klein Jr. Memorial Foundation.

The park kicked off its tree pruning program on Nov. 17 with Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern, Director of Forestry Fiona Watt, and students from a Middle School 80's class on the environment. Stern, perched in the basket of a cherry-picker truck, pruned the park's trees as the students, adorned in hard hats, looked on and listened to a speech about nature and the environment from Watt.

The Parks and Recreation Department prunes street trees once every 10 years. Because of a $10,000 grant from the David L. Klein Jr. Memorial Foundation to the New York Tree Trust, 125 trees in the Williamsbridge Oval Park are set to be pruned at a cost of $80 a tree. The grant is said to be ideal for the Williamsbridge Oval because of its size. Because of cuts in funds to the Parks Department, Bronx parks are having to rely heavily on grant money for beautification.

Over the past two years, the park has received $1.6 million to resurface its basketball courts, build new fencing for its tennis courts, install new play equipment and safety surfaces, build a new roller hockey area, renovate the North West Playground and build a new roof for the Recreation Center.

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