It's a yearly Woodhaven tradition -- the little league parade down Jamaica Avenue (click here to see last year's parade). WORKS Little League (formerly Rich Haven) had their parade last weekend, but it's understandable if you missed it -- they were forced to take a little detour this year. The original marching route was long. Very long!
Originally, they were to start at PS 90 (109th Street in Richmond Hill), march all the way down Jamaica Avenue until they hit Forest Parkway. And then up through the park -- past the Seuffert Bandshell (due to construction) -- across Woodhaven Boulevard ending up at the softball courts in Victory Field. This route is shown below in Red. However, due to track work being done last weekend, it would have been too dangerous -- and so they had to make a sharp right at 98th Street, shown in Blue below, and head straight to Victory Field. It made for a much shorter march, and as it was a cold, blustery morning with a light rain here and there, it was probably a good thing.
We positioned ourselves near the Richmond Hill - Woodhaven border and the kids came by around 10 AM, led by the Beach Channel High School marching band. The parade is always exciting, for parents and especially for kids. It's the start of a brand new year -- and a whole season is ahead of you. Special thanks goes out to the 102nd Precinct for making this route as safe as possible for the kids and parents. And kudos to the parents for watching over the kids. The men and women of Engine Co. 294 opened their doors and began honking the horns of the fire trucks, and waving to the kids from the windows. The kids responded to the greetings from the fire company and it made for a nice moment. It's really great when people come out and acknowledge the kids. Here is video of the first part of the march:
Sen. Joe Addabbo was on hand, reviewing the parade. He marched with the kids the rest of the way from here. We didn't march the rest of the way :-) We hopped into the PW-Mobile so we could get to Victory Field in time for the kids arriving. By the time the parade reached Victory Field it looked as if the sun was starting to make an appearance. And here is our video from the marchers making it to Victory Field:
Wait! There's More! Click Here For More Pictures and Video! If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com .
