Palisades Community Fund Grants

The following five grants were approved by the Palisades Community Fund at its November meeting. They have been approved by the board of the Palisades Citizens Association. PCA members will vote on these grants at the December general meeting:

MacArthur Beautification Group: $1,000. Funding for median plant maintenance, including new and replacement plants; staffed by Palisades resident volunteers. Discussion: funds are needed to support annual appeal for financing.

Lab School of Washington: $2,500. Funds for crane rental, labor costs for the carpentry, and materials to repair and restore the cupola on the Palisades Fire Station on Reservoir Road (right). Discussion: Lab School has designated $15,000: Whiting-Turner Construction already had crane on site for Lab School construction (rents for $3,700 a week). Many Palisades residents had tried for years to accomplish this repair of a neighborhood landmark.

Irene Sinclair, Garden Design: $1,600. Palisades resident, a landscape architect, proposes to donate her labor to restore and design landscaping for Palisades Library; costs include cleanup and removal of dead trees, pruning, and new plant materials. Discussion: recommend grant be contingent on Friend of Palisades Library administering this grant and overseeing follow-through.

Lisa Sherman and “Now This” Theater Group: $225. Funding for one 90-minute children’s theater performance to be held in Palisades during winter, sponsored by PCA. Discussion: This free midwinter performance can be a signal promotional event for both PCA and PCF. The PCA will also be asked to contribute $225.

Key School PTA—from Ginny Sullivan, chair of Annual Fund: $1,250. Funding for updating library holdings and library expansion from approximately ten volumes to 30 volumes per pupil. Discussion: Fewer than 20 volumes per pupil appears to be seriously deficient. Many of Key school’s volumes are from the 60’s or used books.