Daffodil Project Returns to Rockaway

Beautification project returns to the peninsula

August 22, 2019

By Ray Vann

The Daffodil Project teamed up with the students and teachers at PS 104 in 2014, and they have been distributing bulbs in the area annually since 2001.

The 2019 Daffodil Project is returning to Rockaway on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Organizers have urged people to act fast and reserve some bulbs if you’re planning to take part in New York’s largest beautification project this year.

“Every year, we have more and more people sign up for bulbs, which proves how important The Daffodil Project is to communities throughout the city,” said Gabriella Cappo, Director of the Daffodil Project at New Yorkers for Parks. “The bulbs always go fast and we encourage people to register as soon as they can so they can be a part of this uniquely New York City experience.”

The Daffodil Project was envisioned by New Yorkers for Parks (NY4P) board member, and public garden designer, Lynden Miller in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks, as a living memorial to the victims of that terrible day. Now entering its eighteenth year, the project continues to bring beauty out of that tragedy.

Since its inception, the Daffodil Project has planted 7.5 million daffodil bulbs across the city, often teaming up with student groups, corporate volunteers, and dedicated individuals interested in beautifying their neighborhood and remembering the lives lost on New York’s darkest day.

Created by New Yorkers for Parks board member Lynden Miller in the aftermath of 9/11, the Daffodil Project has distributed more than seven and a half million daffodil bulbs as a living memorial to those lost on that tragic day. Photos from the Daffodil Project

“We are very happy to once again bring The Daffodil Project to New York City, to beautify communities across every borough and bring us together in remembrance,” Lynn Kelly, Executive Director of New Yorkers for Parks, said in a press statement about the event.

“And we’re so grateful to the thousands of volunteers whose participation make our city more beautiful every year. The Daffodil Project is emblematic of so much of what makes New Yorkers great – we’re not afraid to get dirty and work together out of love for our city.”

Those interested in reserving bulbs are asked to register online by Sept. 5 at NY4P.org/The-Daffodil-Project and the bulbs will be distributed free-of-charge on Oct. 5 at the Rockaway Firehouse on Beach 59th Street.

The Prayer Garden across from St. Francis de Sales Church on Beach 129th Street, the Beach 113th Street Community Garden, and the Edgemere Urban Renewal Park, as well as a number of other sites across the peninsula are among the locations currently hosting flowers grown from Daffodil Project bulbs.

Daffodils are available to both individuals as well as organizations and civic groups, but Project officials say it is important that those interested reserve their bulbs while supplies last.

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