NEW ROCHELLE, NY — There was every rational reason to doubt the dream of the Hudson Valley Children’s Greenhouse, but for those who held what seemed like an impossible dream, this day and this celebration were predetermined, and the only question that remained was, “How do we get there?”
For Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse Board President Milijana “Milli” Radonjic-Ilich, that road was by no means direct, but as she celebrates the opening of what is already among New Rochelle’s most impressive public facilities, it’s hard to believe the path forward was ever uncertain.
“Welcome to the Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse,” Radonjic-Ilich greets those gathered, adding simply, “We did it. We did it.”
For Radonjic-Ilich, the moment was nearly a decade in the making. She is the first to admit there were seemingly insurmountable hurdles along the way and those hurdles might have put an end to the dream, if not for the help of the friends she made along the way. And this might be part of the secret to Radonjic-Ilich’s success — it’s hard to meet her and not feel like you have made a friend (and a friend that you don’t want to disappoint at that).
Radonjic-Ilich, who considers volunteering a “way of life,” led a volunteer cleanup day at Hudson Park close to a decade ago. As a nameless volunteer on that day, years before the pandemic or the fire that would destroy one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, it’s easy to understand how an impossible dream became an unforgettable space that will help make a whole new generation fall in love with their hometown.
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While volunteering all those years ago, I thought, at first, that Radonjic-Ilich was about to put us to work tearing down the original dilapidated greenhouse at Hudson Park. I hate to admit that I thought she might be crazy when she set the gathered volunteers to weeding the greenhouse gardens. I saw an abandoned, blighted property marring an otherwise picturesque park, but this extraordinary woman saw something else entirely.
When she told the volunteers about the plans for the greenhouse, a place not just for children to learn and explore, but also a place where we would one day gather to celebrate milestones in our lives with loved ones, I was sure that she wasn’t in her right mind, but two things would happen that day to change my mind.
First, the other volunteers started sharing stories about their childhood memories of the greenhouse, from school vists to petting zoo days and a favorite rainy day activity when the beach was closed. I didn’t grow up here and was more than a little jealous of the nostalgia that Radonjic-Ilich was promising to recreate.
Second, and this will come as no surprise to those who know her, Radonjic-Ilich gets things done. She worked her volunteers hard and when we were done, while there wasn’t much that could be done for the structure itself, the gardens surrounding the greenhouse looked pretty darn good. If my boss was as good as Radonjic-Ilich was at getting hard work out of me, then this story would have probably been filed yesterday.
While Radonjic-Ilich’s optimism was contagious on a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day ages ago, the challenges the Hudson Park Greenhouse committee faced along the way tested that resolve in the coming years.
As she looks out from a podium at the now complete Hudson Park Greenhouse, Radonjic-Ilich recalls the shared faith in a simple idea that led to this day. She spoke about planning delays, funding successes and failures, and the friends she made along the way. Radonjic-Ilich held back tears as she talked about her health issues that forced her to loosen her grips on the reins, but smiled as she recounted the underground boulder that stymied construction.
While all of the speakers credited Radonjic-Ilich’s dauntless determination for seeing the project that started as a dark horse’s aspiration across the finish line, she prefers to credit those who helped make an impossible dream a reality.
Assembly Members Steve Otis and Amy Paulin, who together represent New Rochelle, helped secure state grants that made this reality possible.
“Amy and I were excited and honored to help Millie make this dream a reality,” Otis told those gathered. “But, this, this special place, is beyond my wildest dreams.”
It’s clear, from both the setting and his tone, that the lawmaker isn’t overplaying the sentiment.
The new facility will now host year-round programming, including horticulture classes for all ages, garden lecture series, school group visits, activities for children with special needs, an annual pumpkin patch, Mother’s Day plantings, holiday plant shows (such as a garden train exhibit and an Easter plant exhibit), children’s birthday parties and senior citizen events in one of the most picturesque settings on the Sound Shore.
If the dream of restoring a century-old New Rochelle landmark took a village, there was also a little help from the hand of fate. The Wildcliff mansion, an 1855 Gothic Revival style cottage adjacent to Hudson Park, was devastated by a fire in late 2018 that left behind little except the foundation and solid stone exterior walls. It was a huge loss for the community, but one that offered an opportunity.
An advisory committee formed in 2019 tasked with exploring options for the building’s future recommended an adaptive reuse that would salvage the structure’s iconic stone gables, add modern amenities and create a new open-air event pavilion. The plan also offered a new idea for resurrecting a children’s greenhouse at Hudson Park. Rather than rebuilding on the site of the decaying and contaminated greenhouse, the facility would be part of Wildcliff’s rebirth.
“I can remember the terrible night Wildcliff went up in flames,” Radonjic-Ilich lamented. “But of the ashes came a chance for a dream to come true.”
And it’s a dream we can all share in.
New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, who will soon retire from nearly three decades of public service, said the moment stands out as especially poignant in his long career.
“More than almost anything else … the mark of a great city is its public spaces, the places in the community where all are welcome,” Bramson said. “I don’t think anyone here would argue that this isn’t a place that will come to identify our community.”
The mayor might just have a point. When I’m entertaining out-of-town visitors, it’s often the grand public spaces in Manhattan that I’m inclined to show off. But, there is little chance family and friends will now make it out of town without a visit to a place that for too long existed only in the imaginations of a few.
I’m not much for ribbon cuttings and the self-congratulatory speeches that too often accompany ceremonies, but the day feels different. Every single person behind the dais, and many more behind the scenes, helped make something for all of the rest of us. Thanks to them and a leader who kept them on track no matter what, my daughter will have a chance to make childhood memories at a special place that inspired just a touch of native envy in her dad so many years ago.
More information on how to plan an event or to donate to the Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse can be found here.
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