The Common Good

Good Neighbors

With a little help from QVNA, Queen Villagers joined in this spring on neighborhood improvement projects. Mother Earth and the local canine community say thanks!

BEFORE/ No one wanted to play. AFTER/ Playground experts inspect the new surface.

New peas for the park

In April, Mario Lanza Dog Park was resurfaced with pea gravel, thanks to a QVNA Community Grant. Prior to submitting their grant application, volunteers researched alternative surfaces for dog playgrounds.

That’s when the dog park’s volunteer leadership team of Michael DiLuca, Kelsey Lilyquist, Rebecca Olsho, Andrew Pfeiffer, and Meghan Rasmussen discovered the huge cost difference between their preferred surface and the next best thing: Dog turf, a specially designed artificial grass, came in at $45,000 and pea gravel at $3,900. That difference is why—for now—pea gravel is used in the dog park.

Donations are needed not only to help volunteers maintain the dog park but also to improve its surface with dog turf. Annual membership for Mario Lanza Dog Park is $50 (bit.ly/MarioLanzaDogPark). Membership and donations can be made on Venmo @MarioLanzaDogPark. Interested in volunteering at the park and meeting a great crew of dig-dedicated neighbors? Contact MarioLanzaDogPark@qvna.org.

See the dog park in action at www.instagram.com/mariolanzadogpark.

Let's play ball!

E-cycling for Earth Day

On April 23, QVNA hosted its third electronics recycling and document shredding event, sponsored by State Rep. Mary Isaacson and supported by Councilmember Mark Squilla. Hundreds of computers, phones, tablets, and electronic devices; miles of cords; enough VCR tapes to fill a library; six 1970s-era floor speakers; and one vintage typewriter were collected.

This year, document shredding was equally popular. Neighbors watched as their old insurance policies, bank statements, and tax returns were shredded—the first step to recycling them into new paper products like paper towels and tissues.

In just three hours, Queen Villagers diverted several thousand pounds of recyclable materials from city landfills. QVNA thanks everyone who participated in our Earth Week 2022 event. ■

Helping neighbors empty carloads of documents for shredding are Joseph McAteer and Suzanne Ward, members of Rep. Isaacson’s staff. Councilmember Mark Squilla and State Rep. Mary Isaacson admired Mike Mazur’s vintage typewriter.

Fun Fact: In 1977, when VHS tapes were introduced in the U.S., a blank tape cost $20 and a VCR cost $1,200.

Neighbors enjoyed watching their old documents be shredded on site. Samantha Pearson, Chief of Staff for Rep. Isaacson, with the iconic iMac G4.

Neighbors throughout Queen Village unplugged and e-cycled.