QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, May 24, 2012 Page 10
SQ page 10
For three brothers, lives spent scouting Howard Beach teens work to better community for Eagle Scout projects YOUR PERSONAL PARADISE AWAITS.
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Howard Beach teenagers Anthony, left, Thomas and Andrew Mercatante are working to become PHOTO BY ANNA GUSTAFSON Eagle Scouts.
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For much of their childhood and adolescent years, the Mercatante brothers in Howard Beach have been involved in scouting — meaning they’ve done everything from learning how to cook to pitching tents during weeklong camping trips and becoming fluent in first aid. After joining the Cub Scouts in first grade, Thomas, 17, and twins Anthony and Andrew, 15, are well-versed in what it means to be a scout: to be self-sufficient enough that they would know how to set up shelter in the wild, what — and, maybe more importantly, what not — to eat in nature, and how to get along with people spanning a wide variety of ages and backgrounds. Now, after years of scouting — which they credit with making them shed their shyness and giving them a solid footing from which to explore various careers — the three teenagers in Howard Beach’s Troop 139 are working to reach the highest possible rank in the Boy Scouts of America, Eagle Scout. Thomas — a junior at at the High School for Construction, Trades, Engineering and Architecture in Ozone Park — recently completed his Eagle Scout project to clean up the Floyd Bennett Field shoreline near the Mill Basin inlet. The shoreline had become lined with garbage — something incredibly detrimental, especially considering it’s a high traffic area for visitors, including numerous children, the 17-year-old stressed. “We picked up 24 bags of garbage,” Thomas said of himself and 13 other scouts he helped to lead during the project. “We wanted to get rid of the litter, and we saw a lot of glass, wood planks, chip bags and beer cans.” Thomas’ brothers are currently working on their Eagle Scout projects. Anthony, a sophomore at CTEA, is aiming to collect 500 or more pairs of used or new sneakers at various events throughout South Queens in the upcoming week for a project sponsored by Nike that
reuses the shoes’ soles for everything from playground floors to running tracks and basketball courts. “It’s teaching me how to be a leader and do things that help my community,” Anthony said of the Eagle Scout project. Residents can donate shoes for Anthony’s project at Gold’s Gym at 157-05 Crossbay Blvd., Dr. David Fuggetta’s office at 91-17 157 Ave., Dr. Carmen Campisi’s office at 13355 Lefferts Blvd., state Sen. Joe Addabbo’s (DHoward Beach) office at 159-52 102 St., Councilman Eric Ulrich’s (R-Ozone Park) office at 93-06 101 Ave., St. Helen’s School at 83-09 157 Ave., PS 207 at 159-15 88 St., PS 232 at 153-23 83 St., and outside the Waldbaum’s at 156-01 Crossbay Blvd. Andrew, a sophomore at Archbishop Molloy in Briarwood, is working on refurbishing the horsehoe court at Charles Park in Howard Beach, which has fallen into disarray and is now characterized by cracked concrete, weeds growing on the courts and overgrown bushes. “I’ve been playing baseball there my whole life, and it’s always been an eyesore,” said Andrew, who is working to repaint the area’s fences and horseshoe poles, add new sand and trim the bushes, among other initiatives. The boys’ father, Tom Mercatante, who began as his sons’ den leader and is now assistant scout master, said he has been thrilled to give his children some solid footing in what can be an otherwise shaky world. “I guided them through all these years — I taught them to make fires and pitch tents,” he said. “One day, they’ll be able to say, ‘My father did all this for me.’” Their mother, Andrea Mercatante, said it has been a “proud moment” to watch her sons strive for the Eagle Scout status. “Scouting is something that grounds them,” she said. “They camped, and learned first aid. They bonded with people of all ages. For them to finish this gives me a sense of pride that they’ll accomplish anything they Q take up.”