July 2, 2009

A Good Soaking

Weeks of rain make weeding, mowing, and ballfield maintenance difficult — but look how the gardens are thriving!

     The rain came down for eight straight days in June, filling the Park with bobbing umbrellas, soggy puddles — and sidelined ballplayers.

     A near-record 10.06 inches fell in Central Park — more than twice the rainfall measured the same time last year by the National Weather Service’s equipment in Belvedere Castle.

     It’s also added up to a busy month for Central Park Conservancy staff, who’ve been working to keep up with the rainfall so visitors can take advantage of the Park the moment the sun peeks out.

     “Our goal is to get people out on the ballfields everyday,” says Neil Calvanese, the Conservancy’s vice president for operations.

     Staff members have been hitting the Park’s 26 ballfields pretty frequently these past few weeks, getting out immediately after a storm to brush, dry and shape up the fields in time for regulars to play ball. A few times, Calvanese says, just as morning crews finished prepping and were about to open the newly-dried fields to the public, the rain poured down again.

     “All that work quite literally goes down the drain,” he says.

     The rain has also been a challenge for turf care.

     “The grass is growing fast, and we’ve got to mow it slow,” Calvanese explains. “We’ve seen a lot of lush growth from all that rain, and keeping up with it is a real challenge.”

     There is, however, a rainbow at the other end of all the wet weather. The Park is green and lush, and many of its flowers are in full bloom. And as much rain as has been recorded at Belvedere over this past month, at least it’s not been the wettest June on record. That would be 10.27 inches, recorded in 2003.

     So get out and enjoy the Park — just don’t forget your umbrella.