Flushing Meadows Corona Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, August 6, 2012

Parks Cuts Ribbon On Improvements To Flushing Meadows Corona Park

On August 3, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe joined Council Member James Gennaro, members of Queens Community Boards 7 and 8, the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy, and boating groups to cut the ribbon on $1.27 million in sustainable improvements to the area south of Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s Meadow Lake.

“With the City’s population growing, our infrastructure aging, and our environment becoming more unpredictable, it is no longer enough to design attractive parks. We must also design parks that are accessible to a wider variety of park visitors and friendlier for the environment,” said Commissioner Benepe. “Thanks to allocations from Council Member Gennaro and Mayor Bloomberg, this project accomplishes all three – with new rain gardens that are both decorative and capture stormwater, and redesigned paths that are wider to better accommodate all park users.”

This project was funded with $1 million allocated by Council Member Gennaro and $269,000 allocated by Mayor Bloomberg. The renovation includes merging of the deteriorated paths that run south of the boathouse into a larger, single path for safer pedestrian and bicycle use. The new path was graded to allow for stormwater to easily flow into the lake, which will help to alleviate flooding conditions. The project also includes the planting of rain gardens with wetland plants and grasses – including Bald Cypress, Black Tupelo, Swamp Azalea, Swamp Milkweed, and Pickerel Weed. These gardens will capture and filter stormwater while also improving the area’s appearance.

The project is the latest of several improvements recently completed or soon starting in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Last fall, a new dock and renovated boathouse were opened on Meadow Lake. An upcoming project will restore the natural habitat and reconstruct paths along the lake’s southwestern edge. Two additional projects, both funded by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, will create rain gardens to capture runoff on the lake’s western and northern sides.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”

Leonardo da Vinci
(1452 - 1519)