Plainfield Railroad Station: A Beautification Story

Coming Soon!

2009-07-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Next week, July 6, 2009, I start once again efforts to improve our main train station. Join me!

Monday 6th from 10 AM to 12 PM

Wednesday 8th from 9:30 AM to 11 AM

Thursday 9th from 9:30 to 11 AM

So? What has happened here lately?

2008-08-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Irises have been planted here and will be here in full bloom for all to enjoy next year. There is a plan to create an evergreen "fence" around this sign, if you would like to donate money, or an tiny, tiny evergreen, please send me an e-mail for more information about how to donate to: cres125@aol.com.

This picture was taken by the Plainfield Plaintalker, who did a story on us! Click HERE to read the story.

And believe me, not all we do is hard work.

Lillacs Are Coming to the Watchung & North Avenue Hill!

2008-04-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

Lilacs, one of the most traditional shrubs one can have, are coming to the station to have their final home after being rescued from a neighbor who wanted to change her landscape.

From one big shrub, the lilacs were divided into 5 containers which hopefully will survive the transfer.

The lilacs are just the perfect shrub for our little hill facing Watchung Avenue which will be naked after we cut the two weed trees that took advantage of being hidden from sight.

Lilacs (let's all keep our fingers crossed for their survival), petunias, a nice groundcover (it hasn't been decided which one) and few other sun-loving flowers will soon welcome you to that part of the station.

And please, before you yank your plants, know that there are plenty places that would love to "adopt" them. Our small group of volunteers will gladly go to your place and dig them up for you.

Future Site Of Trees!

2008-04-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ms. Deborah Eadie, our NJ Transit's Adopt-a-Station liaison who got us the authorization to plant 3 beautiful flowering trees on this site. While we had made plans to make this site a home for sunflowers and cosmos, trees definitively will make a more permanent, not to mention beneficial, improvement than our original plan. We still plan to plant sunflowers and cosmos, but in a smaller scale. Can't wait to start planting!

If you would like to become a tree or plant donor, please contact us at cres125@aol.com. Your donation will be recognized with a sign made by NJ Transit.

One less site that bothers the eye

2008-04-18T05:49:00.000-07:00

Sunflowers and Cosmos will do well at this sunny site. Maybe future plans, if allowed, will call for flowering trees. Maybe even a rain garden? Bold ideas!

Blooming Despite The Odds

2008-04-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

In cleaning up around the stone wall on the E. Fourth Street this flower, which looks like a tulip, was fighting with litter and stones to bloom. We should soon give her some company.

Loosing The Suckers

2008-04-18T02:50:00.001-07:00

Watchung and North Avenue Hill: Cleaned

2008-04-18T02:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Flor Gonzalez's help, of the Latin American Coalition, this hill got cleaned. Flor came for an "hour" with her leaf-blower and ended up spending almost three hours. We cleaned, we chatted, we saw friends, they brought us coffee, overall, we had a good time while we cleaned this hill.

We did come back!

2008-04-18T02:09:00.000-07:00

We came back to clean up brush and debris, and boy, did we get a workout or what? Thanks to Edgar Martinez and his crew for helping us take all the picked up litter to the agreed site for pick up by NJ Transit. Edgar Martinez is a resident of the Crescent Area Historic District. Let me not forget to mention that he's my husband!

Tired as I was that day I forgot to take an "after" picture, therefore I'll be back with more pictures.

Impromptu Clean Up!

2008-04-09T18:31:00.000-07:00

Litter is gone. Next, brush and leaves will be raked. Coming last: Daffodils, Hostas, and Coral Bells (donated by Bernice Paglia of Plaintalker).

Needed for next week: Mulch. Donations are welcome.

This coming Friday, the Latin American Coalition is donating their time and leaf blower to clean all leaves off the grounds of the station.

Much thanks to Bernice Paglia and Flor Gonzalez. Their help is much valued.

MP

The Story Begins Here

2008-03-31T05:55:00.000-07:00

The Plainfield Railroad Station, or Downtown Train Station as some people know it, sits in the heart of Plainfield. The station is inside the boundaries of the North Avenue Historic District and the station by itself is a protected and registered Historic Property since 1984.

This year, the Crescent Area Neighborhood Association of the Crescent Area Historic District, has officially adopted the Plainfield Railroad Station. We are to clean up the grounds once a month, report any problems to NJ Transit Officials, and we are volunteering to beautify the surrounding grounds of the station.

The grounds offer great potential for a rich and varied green landscape. We are thinking dogwood trees, maples, hydrangeas, and for a unifying look, evergreens. Flower beds are also being planned, and perhaps, if possible, even a rain garden.

We will be documenting every step of the process with pictures, with words, with official documents, with historic pictures, and with anything that helps document a process that will beautify our main train station.

We thank NJ Transit for the opportunity given to communities to have a hand in the way our train stations look. We also want to thank Ms. Deborah Eadie, NJ Transit's Program Coordinator for the Adopt-A-Station Program, whose help and guidance has made the process of adopting the train station an enjoyable ride.

We look forward to share with you our progress in the next following three years that set our timeline to make a difference in the daily commute of our fellow Plainfield residents.

The Crescent Area Neighborhood Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserve the beauty & spirit of Victorian Plainfield since 1979.