By DIANE S. WILLIAMS

The 2003 edition of “The Best 345 Colleges,” published by the Princeton Review, ranked Brooklyn College number one in the country for the beauty of its campus. The immaculate grounds outshone such elite schools as Vassar College, Bryn Mawr College, and Stanford University thanks to the handiwork of DC 37 members from three locals who work hard to create a verdant paradise at Brooklyn College.

“We’re thrilled to be number one,” said Steve Alliano, a Principal Park Supervisor from Local 1797. “There have been a lot of changes over the last 10 years. We experiment with color and put forth a major effort to use suggestions from faculty and students to keep the campus beautiful.”

What lies beyond the ever-bustling Flatbush Avenue Junction, is a painstakingly landscaped 28-acre campus — an educational oasis where redwood sequoia, weeping blue atlas cedars and cherry trees grow. Mighty oaks tower overhead and rare species of lilacs and antique roses bloom amidst spouting fountains. Koi display their colors as they swim slowly in a tranquil reflection pond.

The bucolic venue is made more special by DC 37 members — Custodial Assistants from Local 1597, their Supervisors in Local 1797 and the Laborers of Local 924. The crew does much of the work themselves to keep jobs in-house. Without the benefit of a campus-based landscape architect, they make many of the day-to-day design decisions.

Each day the workers get an early start so noisy leaf blowers and mowers do not disturb lecturing professors. Members said they take pride in their work because a beautiful campus “keeps students mentally refreshed.” The Princeton Review’s top honors are based on students’ opinions of the campus.

The crew also picks up trash, trims grass and hedges, removes snow and plants thousands of annuals each fall and spring along paths that wend through the quadrangle. Laborer Hubierto Ferrer carefully kept 50 fish alive as he drained the lily pond to remove a foot-and-a-half of sludge. Watching the habits of small fish as they hop onto lily pads to bask and mate increased his appreciation for the natural beauty of the campus grounds.

The biggest day at Brooklyn College is commencement. The crew’s six Laborers from Local 924 plant and prune the grounds to picture perfection for graduates, alumni and guests. The result is an idyllic campus that is often used for movie shoots. “We are very proud of the job we do,” said 12-year veteran Mr. Alliano. “The honor of being singled out by Princeton Review and the constant compliments we receive from students and faculty let us know we’re doing a good job.”