COLONIE — At Colonie’s largest public park, The Crossings, work orders come in all the time for CSEA members working there.
But a recent work order was more memorable.
“This one was special,” said CSEA Albany County Local President Bill Alund, who works in the town’s Parks and Recreation Department. “It was for a memorial bench for Danny Donohue.”
Donohue, who served as our union’s president from 1994 to 2019, passed away in August. Donohue’s family had donated the bench in his memory.
“Families can donate the benches as a memorial to their loved ones,” said Alund. “We will assemble and install about five or six per year around the park. Everyone is special, but this one was really special.”
This popular 130-acre park is in Albany County combines the natural beauty of meadows, marshes, wetlands and ponds with recreational opportunities such as playgrounds and trails. The park is a gathering spot for families and friends getting together for a visit or to celebrate a special occasion.
The memorial benches dot the landscape and offer visitors a chance for a rest, a conversation or a moment of quiet reflection in nature.
Parks and Recreation staff assemble each bench from a kit, reinforce all parts, install a concrete slab for the bench to be placed on, secure the bench to the slab and then add the memorial plaque.
“It was emotional the morning we installed the bench,” said Alund. “The idea that we are CSEA members working to put in the memorial to someone who worked so hard on behalf of workers and was so special to us. We started [installing] the bench for Danny first thing that morning. The bench backs to the east. There was a light coming through the field, shining directly on the bench. It was a special moment.”
— Therese Assalian