Public Employee Press

Parkie wins top service award

Recognizing public employees for their outstanding service and dedication to New York City, the 100 Year Association bestowed top honors and the $3,500 Isaac Liberman award on veteran Parks Supervisor Vincent Musillo Jan. 8 at police headquarters.

Musillo, the treasurer of DC 37's Local 1508, has seen the maintenance staff for the 1,255 acre Flushing Meadows Corona Park shrink from 36 to the current 13 under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"Although we have less staff, the park shouldn't suffer - that would be unfair to the community," Musillo said. He motivates the maintenance employees - members of Locals 1505 and 983 and Job Training Program participants - to keep the park beautiful and safe for thousands of tourists and visitors.

The park is 1.5 times the size of Manhattan's Central Park and includes the Mets' Citi Field stadium, the Arthur Ashe tennis stadium (site of the U.S. Open), an Olympic-size aquatics center, two lakes, a skate park, miniature golf, ball fields and picnic areas as well as the Queens Museum of Art, the Hall of Science, Theater in the Park and Queens Botanical Gardens. With its iconic Unisphere sculpture, it twice hosted the World's Fair and was featured in the blockbuster movie, "Men in Black."

"Tennis fans from around the world are impressed that the stadium is run by the city of New York," Musillo said. On summer days, up to 20,000 people enjoy the park, and during the U.S. Open, the number tops 150,000.

"Making sure the park is clean by the end of the day is a big challenge," Musillo said. Parks staff makes a special cleanup effort after holiday weekends. "It's our goal to have it pristine and not a pigsty."

Deeply committed to helping others, Musillo tutors Parks workers to help them pass civil service exams and "move up the ladder and do better in life," he said. He succeeded in overturning five unfair questions, which led to the hiring of 84 permanent Parks Supervisors, who are now Local 1508 members.

The association also honored eight other career civil servants, including Criminalist Craig Huemmer of Local 375 and Clerical Associate Nancy Mier of Local 1549, and awarded college scholarships to the children of 15 civil service workers, including eight DC 37 members.