Neighbors Band Together To Help Clean-up Udalls Cove

The spring cleanup of Udalls Cove Park has become an annual tradition for residents of Little Neck and Douglaston — one that was particularly significant this year. 

That's because one goal of Saturday's volunteer effort was the continued recovery of the Virginia Point section of the 33-acre park, which was ravaged both by a June 2010 thunderstorm that felled dozens of trees as well as last winter's significant snowfall.

"This past year was exceptionally bad ... we had the microburst last fall then all then snow this past winter, which allowed all the trash buried underneath the soil to rear it's head," said Little Neck resident Vivienne Lenk, who joined dozens of volunteers the 42nd Annual Meeting and Cleanup event Saturday organized by the Udalls Cove Preservation Committee.

Three teams of cleanup crews focused their energies at three different areas of the park: Oak Pond, Memorial Field and Virginia Point. 

Among those pitching in to help were students at South Great Neck Middle School and High School, who cleaned up trash along the waterfront at Memorial Field, and young members of the Little Neck Leos helping to restore Virginia Point. 

"There are just so many cool places scattered through Douglaston and Little Neck. Some really great hidden treasures right in all of our backyards ... It's important we all pitch in to preserve them," said Udalls Cove Preservation Committee vice president Bruce Stewart. 

Sen. Tony Avella, D-Bayside, helped kick-off the event Saturday morning at the Red Barn on Sand Hill Road. Assemblyman Edward Braunstein, D-Bayside, also helped to tidy up Memorial Field.

Organizers of the event said they were pleased with the turnout on a warm, sunny day that seemed to erase all memory of last winter's unrelenting snow. 

"It's beautiful out ... the perfect day for cleaning up Udalls' Cove," said Udalls Cove Preservation Committee president Walter Mugdan. "We're all real excited about it." 

Patrick Conti contributed reporting to this story.