Meet Fiona and Ginger, the two new park horses at Flushing Meadows Corona Park
New York just got two extremely pretty new residents: meet Fiona and Ginger, two new horses joining the NYC Parks mounted command in Queens.
The dashing duo will be living at the brand-new Parks Enforcement Patrol (PEP) mounted command facility at the Sunrise Stables in Gemini Fields, Queens, the first new mounted command facility in the borough in 23 years, which will serve as training grounds for mounted PEP officers. The horses will allow for increased mounted patrol in parks in both Queens and Brooklyn, including Flushing Meadows Corona Park and Prospect Park.
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“We’re excited to debut our new command facility at Sunrise Stables for mounted Parks Enforcement Patrol units, the first facility of its type in Queens in 23 years! Our Parks horses Fiona and Ginger will help our dedicated PEP officers patrol some of the marquee parks in Queens and Brooklyn, as well as the beaches and boardwalk in Rockaway,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “We are so thankful to the L.P. Rizzuto Foundation for this donation, which will allow us to provide a more visible presence in our parks, furthering our commitment to keep our greenspaces safe and welcoming, assist with crowd control during special events, and provide first aid when needed.”
“We are excited to expand our Parks Mounted Unit into Queens, here at Sunrise Stables, and thank Gallop NYC for welcoming us,” said NYC Parks Deputy Commissioner of Urban Park Service and Public Programs Margaret Nelson. “The generous donation from our longtime supporters at the L.P. Rizzuto Foundation enabled Parks to purchase trailers to house and care for our current horses and station staff on site, while ongoing operations will be funded by Parks. Located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens, this expansion will allow the communities of these two boroughs to interact with the Mounted Unit as they patrol to keep our parks safe and educate the public.”
That generation donation—$162,000 donation from the L.P. Rizzuto Foundation— funded a new office trailer and horse trailer have been added to the park, allowing for expanded Parks operations out of Sunrise Stables. From there, mounted PEP officers will be able to go out and patrol city parks like Forest Park, Fort Greene Park and Alley Pond Park, and even make it all the way down to the sandy stretches of Rockaway Beach.
Check out the gorgeous girls below:
