By MARCIA MOXAM COMRIE

A flooded out and weather-beaten park in St. Alban’s will once again be a field of dreams for local residents thanks to construction project expected to revitalize the recreation area.

With funding totaling almost $1 million, St. Albans Park, will undergo extensive reconstruction necessitated by flooding and other weather and traffic issues, according to Assistant Parks Commissioner, Edward Lewis.

Lewis told the PRESS that the pathways and tracks throughout the field bordered by Sayres Avenue and Linden and Merrick Boulevards were seriously cracked and in need of repairs and those will be the first areas of the park to get rehabilitated — with the tennis, basketball and handball courts not far behind in the beautification project.

"There was tremendous flooding of the basketball courts," said Lewis. "The work was badly-needed because they [posed] a safety hazard and Councilman Archie Spigner, saw that it needed repairing so he got the funding.

According to Lewis, Spigner, deputy majority leader of the City Council, drummed up support to keep St Albans and other parks safer and more attractive.

O’Connell Park, Locust and Liberty playgrounds are among the parks recently refurbished through the councilman’s initiatives, according to Lewis.

"I am delighted with the improvements we have achieved in our parks," said Spigner. "Every park in the district has benefited from major reconstruction or rehabilitation programs. It’s good for the children and good for the community."

The work on St. Albans Park, which Lewis said is right on schedule, is being performed by Elken Contractors under the supervision of the Parks Department.

Work on the open fields is slated for completion by December 1, 2000 and the courts will reportedly be ready for use by the spring.

It’s a project that according to Jacques Karteron, assistant district manager of Community Board 12, was two years in the making but he says upon completion it will have been well worth the wait.

"I think it’s wonderful for the community," said Karteron. "There will [even] be an exercise area and every thing will be more user-friendly. I think more people will use it now, too," he said.

Lewis told the PRESS that the improvements will finally give the Rosedale Little League a home near 232 Street and 147 Avenues.

West Nile Update:
$5 Million In Emergency Funds,
Danger Not Over

Five million federal dollars are on their way to the New York area in Emergency Disaster funds that will help pay back the cost of this summer’s West Nile Virus fight, but health officials warn that cool days in Queens don’t mean the end of the threat.

According to Erich Giebelhaus, spokesperson for the Department of Health, mosquito season is officially over only after certain conditions have been met. "Mosquitoes are active until we receive several days of hard frost," he said. "We have not had any hard frost to date so people should still be cautious."

Meanwhile, President Bill Clinton issued an Emergency Disaster Declaration as the Tribune went to press on Oct. 11 which will release Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds to help New York and its surrounding area.

Governor George Pataki responded by saying that the figure "short changed" New York, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani agreed.

Members of the New York Congressional Delegation, including Congressmen Gary Ackerman and Joseph Crowley, had requested the funding. This week’s approval reverses last month’s decision by FEMA to deny any financial assistance to the state in its efforts to address the problem, according to Ackerman.

Pataki called the funding insufficient and demanded that the Clinton Administration fully reimburse New York State taxpayers for the money spent to combat the deadly virus.

The costs now borne by New York State, New York CIty and 56 counties that have initiated response actions already exceeds $14 million in 1999 and $17 million in 2000, according to Pataki. Additional local expenditures are estimated to exceed $13 million by the end of the year, bringing the anticipated costs in 2000 to more than $30 million.

In addition, the administration refused to provide any assistance for the prevention and surveillance efforts conducted by the New York State Department of Health, which has borne the brunt of responding to this disease, Pataki said.

"This is very unfair for New Yorkers," said Mayor Rudy Giuliani. "We have spent $15 million already and the tap will probably reach $30 million by the end of the year. This is just another example of how the Clinton administration takes New Yorkers for granted."

Meanwhile, the New York City Health Commis-sioner Neal Cohen, released a sum-mary of the bird and mosquito findings in the Queens area.

According to the summary, there were approximately 25 local birds found infected with the virus, five mosquito pools, and only one reported human case, of a Hollis woman who was diagnosed two weeks ago and has already been treated and released from care. The report also disclosed that with the approach of colder weather further mosquito sprayings are not being scheduled.

"With 118 mosquitoes pools testing negative for West Nile virus in New York City over the past week, as well as cooler weather and reduced mosquito activity, spraying activities are not scheduled in New York City at this time," he said.

As for the threat of mosquitoes once the frost hits, Giebelhaus said that people should not be overly concerned. "We currently have over 70 mosquito sites under surveillance. We will monitor the sites until the first days of winter. But for the most part, the first days of frost will kill them," he said.

Dog Gone Wild:
Toddlers Maimed In Rotweiler Attack

By DAVID HARRIS

A stray dog turned viscious at a Jamaica daycare center this week, attacking three children and relentlessly holding the last child clenched in its jaw even as frantic adults beat the rotweiler with bricks and a metal pole.

Just after 6 p.m. on Oct. 11,
the stray rotweiler followed a woman into the center through an open door during the after work bustle at the Loving Care daycare center on 113 Avenue. The business operates out of the residence of Jacques Walcott, who told the PRESS that the dog bit two children – one just two years old — before she was able to get it out of the center by hitting it with broom.

According to neighbor Roberta Ceaser, the dog was one of two that had roamed the neighborhood all day, and had harassed a mother and infant earlier that same afternoon.

"It was trying to get the baby away from her and she was keeping the baby’s stroller between them. So then a man had to come and help them get away from the dog, but he kept hanging around chasing kids. He was starved and looking for something he could eat in a few bites," Ceaser said.

Once Walcott and another woman forced the dog outside, it pounced on a 4-year-old boy.

Ceaser said that a pair of men passing by who saw the attack beat the animal with a brick, but were unable to break it’s grip on the child. One of the men finally subdued the dog by hitting it with a piece of metal bed railing, and the dog recovered soon after the boy was rescued.

"We called the police six times," said Ceaser. "The ambulance came and the [paramedics] barricaded the dog inside the gate until the cops came."

Officer Theresa Ferillo, a police spokesperson, said that officers from the 113 precinct responded to the call and made the decision to tranquilize the animal instead of killing it.

"Once outside, officers darted the animal and removed it from the scene." Ferillo said. "We are currently looking for the other animal."

According to Ceaser, one officer had to hold the 100 pound animal at bay with a noose and pole for over an hour until the darts arrived. At press time the second dog, a pitbull, had yet to be collared.

Both boy’s were rushed to the emergency room at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica. The two-year-old suffered from a severe laceration to his face, was treated and remains in stable condition. The four-year-old second victim was treated for a shoulder wound and released.