Each November since 1999, The East Coast Car Association has a Toy Run with over 100 cars and motorcycles - many of them classics - which starts at the Forest Park Bandshell and ends at St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children in Bayside, Queens.  The East Coast Car Association raises money throughout the year at their car shows - they have donated over $112,000 to St. Mary's since they began in 1999.  We tip our hats to the men and women of the East Coast Car Association! 

This year's car run was on Sunday, November 17th -- the weather was a little chancy and we were all hoping the rain would hold off a few hours.  But, rain or shine, the membership came out for the toy run to Bayside.  This is a great event to come to.  Check out the classic old police cars.

The Green and Whites gave way to the Blue and Whites in the 1970s.  For a short period of time there was an overlap between the 2 styles of cars.  If you've ever seen Dog Day Afternoon, the famous "Attica!" scene, you'll see both of them in the street outside the bank (click here for video).

This is a very family-friendly event, as one would expect, and Santa made an appearance to wish everyone well.

The parking lot was flush with classic cars. 

There were great looking cars wherever you looked.  Here are a pair of panorama shots we attempted. 

The men and women of the East Coast Car Association, photo courtesy of Loretta Paolino.

Here's another beauty.  As it turned out, we were right behind this one on the way out to Bayside.

And we're off!  This was a fun experience.  And kudos to the NYPD and Highway officers who blocked exits and paved the road for the car run.

Here we are on the road! 

The procession behind us on the Grand Central Parkway.

Let's take a quick break from the pictures to look at the video of the day -- from the toy run, to the unloading of the packages (departure portion of the video courtesy of Michael Hennessy):

The amount of toys donated to the East Coast Car Association for this trip was staggering.  The members of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association made a modest donation, about 25 toys, an amount dwarfed by the final collection. 

Here are the toys, unloaded and laid out.

The mood was very festive!

The kids were brought to the room to select gifts.  Only the healthiest children were brought to the room.  In some cases, it would not be safe for the children to travel, so the gifts will be given to them later.

The kids were having a fantastic time.  And so were we.  You can't help but be touched by an event like this.

The kids had trouble choosing which gift to choose!

They paused to say a few words of thanks.  The room we were standing in was built with some of the funds raised by the East Coast Car Association.

They presented checks from other donors totaling just over a thousand, and gave a check from East Coast Car Association for ten thousand dollars.

It was a great day for the kids - for the members of the club - and for anyone else fortunate enough to have tagged along.

We'll present the rest of the pictures without comment as they speak for themselves.

If you have any comments, or would like to suggest other projects, drop us a line at info@projectwoodhaven.com or projectwoodhaven@aol.com.  

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Photos by Joey Wendell