August 19, 2015. Final day this season for HarborLAB’s “Partner Paddles” with the Stanlet Isaacs Neighborhood Center of East Harlem.

HarborLAB was back at Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunters Point South Park again, just days after Sunday night’s EcoBon floating lantern event. This time the sun was with us, even if the clouds were too. But brighter than our lanterns and the swaddled sun were the smiles of dozens of East Harlem kids from the Stanley Isaacs Neighborhood Center!

Wednesday afternoon was our third and final “Partner Paddle” with the Center for 2015. We served nearly 100 kids over those three sessions, introducing them to the estuary and sending them home with literature and posters from the Hudson River Foundation. We scheduled the kids and Gantry Plaza State Park access through the Waterfront Alliance. In addition to the kindness of New York State Office of Parks, recreation, and Historic Preservation, we relied on the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation for Hunters Point South Park spaces for the kids to play and sun dry. Our programs are made possible by our sponsors, and at Gantry Plaza State Park that’s especially TF Cornerstone, New York Waterway, and Con Ed.

August 19, 2015. Final day this season for HarborLAB’s “Partner Paddles” with the Stanlet Isaacs Neighborhood Center of East Harlem.

As always, our volunteers produced the program with joyful hard work. We have a wonderful community. Patricia Erickson, Damian Griffin, Scott Wolpow, Richard Furlong, Erik Baard, and Ray Tan were joined by stellar volunteers from Etsy. The online crafts and fair trade company volunteered at our site earlier this summer too, and we hope it’s the start of a friendship!