Update On The Marshall Plan 2004 State Of The Borough

Helen Marshall with David Sookhoo, the five-year-old recipient of an uplifting song written just for him. Tribune photo by Ira Cohen By Stephen McGuire A new skating rink and swimming pool complex, a home for a Redbird subway car and a song to lift the spirits of a child with leukemia were the among the surprises at Borough President Helen Marshall’s state of the borough address at Queens College’s Colden Center on Jan 27. “I am thrilled to announce today that working with Mayor Michael Bloomberg our long awaited pool and ice rink at Flushing Meadows-Corona park will now be built,” said Marshall. “This project is a centerpiece of my ‘Marshall Plan.’” She continued, “At my first State of the Borough, I described what my staff has dubbed my Marshall Plan. It included long range plans for more housing, ensuring that school construction was on track, improving access to health care, an initiative for youth in New York City Housing developments, a Rockaway Task Force to help bolster the renaissance of the peninsula, improving our libraries and parks, revitalizing our neighborhoods through businesses and cultural developments; and having the infrastructure to make it all work. And today I can report that the Marshall Plan is in action and yielding results.” Among those results was the announcement that a long awaited pool and ice rink complex in Flushing-Meadows Corona Park will soon be built. “A spectacular building will serve the recreational needs of the entire borough in a state-of-the-art pool and rink complex. As many of you know, this plan has been in the works for many years under the leadership of my friend Claire Shulman. It will be a showpiece in the park, and no doubt, a center of international activities during the 2012 Olympics.” Marshall, later in the address, presented Bloomberg with a pair of oversized orange swimming trunks as a token of appreciation for helping the pool/rink complex grow closer to construction. Marshall also thanked the Queens Tribune for laying down the track to preserving a Redbird subway car in Queens. “To show the world we are serious about tourism, I negotiated an agreement with the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) to take one of our unique assets – a Redbird IRT train car that was formally used on the 7 Line, refurbish it, place it on a prominent place on Borough Hall grounds, and dedicate it as our Queens Tourism Information Center. Thank you Queens Tribune for leading the charge,” Marshall said. And in a touching moment, Marshall introduced to the audience, David Sookhoo, a five year-old boy with leukemia. Sookhoo was serenaded by the audience with some help from John Belzer, founder of the Kew Gardens based Songs of Love. “(Belzer) writes songs for children who are ill and often hospitalized. Think about that – a special melody to help a child get through a difficult period,” Marshall said. “My job is to bring people get together at my table and make things happen. I meet every day with representatives of communities, businesses, the arts, education, healthcare and government to solve problems,” Marshall said.