NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Residents of New York are memorializing park locations that are special to them by making donations under the adopt-a-park program.
The practice -- long used in colleges, museums, hospitals and places of worship -- allows people to dedicate spaces in city parks for a fee that goes to the park, the New York Times reported Sunday.
For example, sex therapist Ruth Westheimer donated $5,000 for a park bench and plaque dedicated to her husband.
The marker on the park bench in Fort Tryon Park overlooking the Hudson River is from the Song of Solomon: "My beloved has gone down to the garden to the beds of spices, to browse in the gardens and to pick lilies."
However, critics of the adopt-a-park program say the donations accentuate the disparity among the city parks -- with parks in the nicer areas getting more donations.
