Park It
I recently visited one of
my favorite places in New York City - C e n t r a l Park. It’s a
sprawling 843 acres of water (150 acres), l a w n s (2 5 0 a c r e s) a n
d 1 3 6 a c r e s o f woodlands, smack in the middle of the Isle of
Manhattan. On my Sunday in the Park, there were c o n c e r t s i n p r o
g r e s s , people playing bocce ball, runners, walkers, hikers a n d b o
a t e r s interacting in peace. In s h o r t , t h i s w o n d e r f u l
treasure is a testimony t o i t s c r e a t o r s .
In 1858, with the blessing of the New York State
Legislature, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux set about creating a
place where all kinds of people could get together and enjoy everything
the p a r k h a s t o o f f e r . Last year, over 26 million people came
to Central Park! I’m not sure this kind of land acquisition would be p o s
s i b l e o r affordable today, so hail to the visionaries. As the S a n G
. P a s s a r e a experiences staggering growth, I am happy to see t h a t
p r e v i o u s a n d current city policy setters had their own vision and
exerted legislative follow through. Banning is blessed with some
outstanding parks.
I think we should treasure them, and as members of the
business community, help support, preserve and enhance the Banning Park
system.
Across the street from Central Park
is the Dakota, where John Lennon was murdered. Yoko Ono established
Strawberry Fields in the park.
"Imagine" - a John Lennon/Beatles classic inspired this walkway sculpture.
My photo does not do justice to what the spot evokes. The flowers are put
there by .... I have no idea, yet locals say something is always there.
People are nicer to each other
around this spot in the park. Will we ever learn?
As
noted 