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Martha Taylor grew up in Jamaica Estates in the 1950s and '60s and used to visit Captain Tilly Park at 165th Street and Highland Avenue in nearby Jamaica Hill. As a mother, she took her four children, Jonathan, Edward, Jane and Marjorie, to play in the park.
"I have many fond memories here. The whole family frequented the park," said Taylor, who now lives in Jamaica Hill and is Community Board 8's parks committee chairwoman.
Now, renovation of the picturesque 8.5-acre park and its 1.5-acre Goose Pond, is at the center of a dispute between the Jamaica Hill Community Association and the city Parks Department. The department has spent more than $750,000 on repairing the pond in the past year, including excavation and a new filtration system. Last July it stocked the pond with more than 2,500 fish and other aquatic life, but six weeks later 120 fish were found dead. Since then there has been additional work.
Anna Sawchuk, president of the association, which was formed in 1972, said, "The pond is overrun with weeds and algae. I hate to see it not being what it should be."
She said it was the park's first major overhaul in 20 years.
Marc Matsil, chief of the Parks Department's Natural Resources Group, said the growth at the pond "is not algae. It is millfoil," which he calls an emergent wetland plant. "The pond is healthy and vibrant in an urban context," he said.
Marc Haken grew...