A ribbon-cutting event was held Friday, June 13, to commemorate the new beautification of Port Washington’s Long Island Rail Road.
The event and project were spearheaded by Residents Forward, a non-profit organization dedicated to making the Port Washington peninsula more beautiful and sustainable through environmental projects. The one-hour event celebrated their latest accomplishment of remaking the garden entrance to the town’s LIRR station more appealing with new bushes, flowers, and plants.
“We feel it’s important to the community and for them to feel good here,” said Patricia Class, the organization’s executive director.
The actual planting took two days, with landscaping done by The Laurel Group, a landscape and architecture firm. Landscape supplies distributor SiteOne Landscape Supply donated the plants, all of which are local to the area and and require only low watering to ensure their sustainability in the long term.
Beautification Chair Melissa Vissicchio and Jim Russo secured the project’s funding via his employer, TIFF Investment Management. The project itself took about a month of planning in collaboration with Councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte as well as the Town of North Hempstead.
This project comes right after Residents Forward recently planted several flowers in crates in several corners of the town. The nonprofit has its current sights on developing its Port Washington Oyster Garden pilot program with Dalimonte, as well as launching a food scrap recycling program to reduce waste.
