STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
These young fencers are sharp!
BOROUGH WIDE
Two Kings County fencers scored
big at a national tournament held in
Missouri last weekend, including
one freshman at a Windsor Terrace
charter school who defeated grown
men six years his senior, his coach
said.
“Skyler is only 14 and was having
a blast fencing some of the best 17–20
year olds in the country, so when he
beat them, he was ecstatic,” said New
York Fencing Academy coach Misha
Mokretsov, boasting of champ Skyler
Liverant.
Liverant, who started school at
Brooklyn Prospect Charter High
School earlier this
year, earned fi fth
place in the Juniors
category usually
reserved for competitors
four years
his senior, and is
now ranked number
two nationally,
putting him in the
running for a national fencing squad
to represent the United States at the
2019 Jr. Olympics, according to his
coach.
Midwood High School sophomore
Jaclyn Khrol (inset with coach
Mokretsov) also gave a stellar performance,
earning bronze in Juniors just
a week before the 15-year-old is expected
to represent Team USA at the
Junior World Cup fencing tournament
in Puerto Rico.
And Jaclyn’s sister, eighth-grader
Caralina Khrol, seems to be following
in her sibling’s footsteps, as the
youngster took home a bronze medal
in the under-14 group.
— Colin Mixson
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT
Snip, snip on fun zone
This playground is fun for the
whole family.
Parks Commissioner Mitchell J.
Silver joined Councilman Robert E.
Cornegy, Jr., community members,
and students and administrators from
both Bed-Stuy Success Academy
and PS 59 to snip the ribbon on the
upgraded Sumner Playground in Bedford
Stuyvesant.
Offi cials took input from local residents
and nearby schools to design the
community space.
“As the elected offi cial for this district
and fellow Brooklynite it gives me
great joy to witness the revitalization
of our local parks and playgrounds,”
said Cornegy. “Bed-Stuy families
will now be able to enjoy the park’s
new amenities in a beautiful setting.
Thanks to the Mayor’s Offi ce and NYC
Parks for their partnership on this
project, which will serve the area for
years to come.”
Thanks to the $4.2-million redesign,
funded jointly by Cornegy and
Mayor DeBlasio, the playground
now offers tot and junior swings,
spray showers, and state-of-the-art
adult-fi tness equipment — providing
a free, year-round outdoor gym
in the community. Workers also updated
the ballfi eld with natural turf
and new dugouts and bleachers, and
the basketball courts have been completely
reconstructed.
Garden seating, landscaping, and
brand-new shaded plazas add a fresh
look to the playground.
COURIER L 36 IFE, NOV. 23–29, 2018 M B G
Sumner Playground (Throop Avenue
between Park Avenue and Stockton
Street).
BOROUGH WIDE
Save the date
Calling all high school seniors!
Municipal Credit Union is
launching its 2019 MCU Scholarship
Program, aiming to help hardworking
students achieve their dreams for
higher education.
The credit union is offering $71,000
in scholarship grants: nine memorial
scholarships worth $5,000 each, and 13
grants of $2,000 each.
“Empowering the youth through-
Youngsters and local elected offi
cials this month helped snip the
ribbon to celebrate a new-and-improved
McGolrick Playground in
Greenpoint’s McGolrick Park —
the perfect spot for tots to run free
or to take a break from the hustle
and bustle of the city and enjoy a
good book, said a neighborhood pol.
“McGolrick Park is one North
Brooklyn’s shining stars. It truly
is a very unique park. It provides
a home to many birds, book readers,
dogs, and picnickers,” said Assemblyman
Joseph Lentol, who
was joined by the Parks Department’s
Brooklyn Borough Commissioner
Martin Maher, Greenpoint
Councilman Stephen Levin,
members of Community Board 1,
students and staff from nearby PS
110, the North Brooklyn Parks
Alliance, and the McGolrick
Park Neighborhood Alliance.
“Now the playground is back and
better than ever.”
The Parks Department last
month wrapped its $2.9-million renovation
of the playground inside the
larger green space, Msgr. McGolrick
Park.
Workers gave the playground’s
two separate play areas, one for 2-
to 5-year-olds and another for 5- to
12-year-olds, a complete facelift,
so both boast new safety surfaces,
swings, and a spray shower — and
the neighborhood’s smallest tots can
now swing and cool off at the same
time in a combined spray shower
and swing set.
The space also features new cafe
tables and seating, and gated entryways
throughout the playground as
part of the project funded by Mayor
DeBlasio, Borough President Adams,
and Levin.
McGolrick Park (Russell Street
and Nassau Avenue).
— Julianne Cuba
FORT GREENE
Birthday to remember
Standing O salutes Harvey
Yalan, who debuted his artwork
in his fi rst-ever exhibition — entitled
“Look! See! Think! – A Lifetime
Perspective” — at Long Island
University–Brooklyn’s
Resnick Gallery on his 89th birthday,
on Nov. 15. The octogenarian
said he was inspired to use found
objects — including cardboard,
bottles, and metals — to craft
his tongue-in-cheek creations of
cartoonish characters to inspire
viewers to take a closer look at
the world around them.
“People look at things everyday,
but they don’t see,” said
Yalan, who lives in Midwood. “I
wanted people to look and think
about what it was they were seeing.
Perception is subjective and
that is the fun of these works.”
Yalan began making his
mixed-media creations in his
basement more than 30 years ago,
after he retired and sold his Park
Slope pharmacy. The artist said
he can never predict when inspiration
will strike — and that
sometimes he has to go hunting
for it — but added that the surprise
is part of the fun.
“I have no idea what it is, what
I will do with it, or what I think
about it,” he said. “And then, the
‘Aha’ moment! By fl ipping an object
upside down, redefi ning its
perspective, seeing how it connects
to other random objects, inspiration
comes.”
Standing O wishes Yalan
many more moments of inspiration.
— Julianne McShane
out the communities we serve is at the
heart of our credit union values,” said
MCU Vice President of Marketing
and Public Relations Louise Cogan-
Rupani. “We are very proud of our
long-standing scholarship program
and the opportunities it provides us
in recognizing and rewarding young
people for their outstanding academic
performance and community service.”
The program is open to MCU members,
a child, or a grandchild of a member
in good standing.
Applications are due by Jan. 4, 2019,
and are available on MCU’s website,
www.nymcu.org, and at any branch location.
— Courtney Donahue
READY TO PLAY: Youngsters and Greenpoint pols, including Councilman Steve Levin
and Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, celebrated the reopening of McGolrick Playground
on Nov. 7. Parks Department
This park is ready for playing!
Photo by Zoe Freilich
/www.nymcu.org