By Tommy Hallissey
The foot of the pond was the site last Thursday of the unveiling of the $550,000 city- and state-funded project to rejuvenate the land that was once two soggy ballfields.
The ribbon-cutting was the culmination of a three-year project by the city Department of Parks and Recreations' Natural Resource Group to transform two former ballfields back into a kettle pond. Three acres of freshwater wetland habitat were restored. The landscape around the pond was stabilized and the slope of the water's edge was recreated.
Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Secretary of State Randy Daniels, Parks and Recreation Queens Borough Commissioner Richard Murphy, City Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village), Pat Toro Jr., president of Chapter 32 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, and the family of Strack attended the event.
“Once a soggy and often unusable ballfield, this site is now a beautiful pond, teeming with life,” said Benepe. “The over half-a-million-dollar restoration of Pfc. Laurence Strack Pond give nature lovers a great new spot to see butterflies, red-tailed hawks and great blue herons.”
The glacial kettle pond is one of the last remainders of the Ice Age 20,000 years ago. In 1966 the pond was filled to make way for two ballfields. But runoff from the surrounding slopes often made the fields unplayable.
On Feb. 11, 1969 the ballfields were named in honor of Strack, who died in combat in Vietnam during a fierce firefight in March 1967. A member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Strack posthumously received the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Parachutist Badge, the New York State Conspicuous Service Medal and the Bronze Star with “V” Device Purple Heart.
Strack's brother Gilbert and his niece Samantha were on hand for the rededication. Gilbert Strack played ice hockey with his brother on the pond when they were young.
“It's kind of like closure,” Gilbert Strack said. “It's nice to see there are people out there who really care about the veterans.”
Instead of cutting a ribbon, the Parks Department chose to plant a red oak sapling on the site.
“This park is an example of the type of success possible through state and local collaboration,” said Daniels. “By this gesture we take one small step to honor those who did not receive due credit.”
PFC Laurence Strack Memorial Pond is not the only recent upgrade to Forest Park. In November, city construction crews completed a $1.5 million project to install artificial turf, bleachers and permanent fencing to Victory Field at the cross section of Myrtle Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard.
Forest Park is the third largest park in Queens. The park is bordered by five communities: Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens, Forest Hills, Woodhaven and Glendale. Founded in the 1890s, Forest Park covers 662 acres.
Reach reporter Tommy Hallissey by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
