Best Spots On and Off Campus to Enjoy Autumn’s Leaves
By Clark Adomaitis
The following article appeared in the November 2019 edition of The Campus.
Plenty of deciduous trees on and around campus are producing colorful arrays of leaves for us to watch and play in. They also leave a lot of work for CCNY’s Office of Facilities and Management, whom we thank for their hard and diligent work. According to Smoky Mountains’ 2019 Fall Foliage Prediction map, the peak foliage happened the week of October 19th. Nature’s autumn rainbow has littered the ground and filled our sky for a few weeks, and the variety of tints will now fade in November and December. Here are the best spots on campus where the leaves fell in large quantities and with the most range of color. Please enjoy the rainbow of hues our beautiful trees provide!
St. NicholasPark
A plethora of vast trees and bushes arch over the prettypark. An array of oranges, reds, yellows, and browns cover Alexander Hamilton’sold stomping grounds. This once green park has transformed into an autumnwonderland. The blanket of dead leaves covering the recently vivid green fieldsenliven our visual appetites. The calming colors make this great park arelaxing sanctuary for the brisk mornings and crisp evenings that we have beenenjoying this season. The sloping landscape of the park means that the leaveshave more surface area of land to cover. Therefore, they spread across the parkand onto the adjacent Saint Nicholas Avenue.
WilleAdministration’s Lawn
This lawn has a few different kinds of trees that stretchover it and grow out of it. Some grow straight up, and a larger one covers thewhole space, making this spot one of the densest leaf pockets on campus.Yellows, browns, and oranges are popular on this ground. The area sees plentyof foot traffic as students and staff are constantly in and out ofadministration to handle tedious tasks including registration mishaps andfinancial aid issues. The sight of dense autumn colors or a playful kick to astack of leaves could help stressed CCNY-goers re-center themselves.
The Quad
Eight large trees and four small trees grow out of the Quad.The cold trees’ byproduct blankets the mostly-cement haven for lunch eaters.After you finish your sandwich, pizza, Chinese food, halal food, or bubble tea,hop into a pile of leaves and run through the layer that covers the ground. Theleaves are consistently blown by the wind and by the facility’s employees.Therefore, the quad is never a safety hazard for walkers.
ConventAvenue
The aorta of campus is bordered by a row of trees on bothsides. Cars, busy students, and fast-moving faculty must maneuver around orplow through piles of leaves. Thankfully, the Office of Facilities andManagement have kept the road clean. Walkers and drivers appreciate theirdiligent work. Please look both ways before you cross the street. While you arelooking out for cars, you will also see the different shades that color centralpassageway of our campus.
ShepardHall’s Lawn
This must-visit space has a gradient of leaf amounts. Onelarge tree that produces many yellows hangs over the left side of the field.Many leaves litter the vast grassy area. They clog up the sidewalk entrance toShepard Hall, and they reduce the velocity of the massive amount of daily foottraffic. The rest of the field only receives leaves from nearby sidewalk trees.If you are looking for a grassy space mostly clear of leaves, the right side ofthe Shepard field is your spot.
