City Gears for Giant Fort Totten Takeover

Scheduled to be linked to the already-designated ten-acre Fort Totten park, the 49.5-acre facility will be equal in size to nearby Crocheron Park. The Army Reserves will retain approximately 38 acres, adjacent to a 9.6-acre Coast Guard facility. Proponents say that the proposed action would facilitate the preservation and enhancement of Fort tottens historic resources, promote public access to the forts historic fortifications, its recreational open spaces and waterfront, and the Forts integration into the Citys greenway/bikeway network.
CB 7s Land Use Chairman Adrian Joyce called the meeting "a significant first step in the process of conveying the property to New York City from the Federal government." Joyce has chaired the committee for the past 12 months, and earlier this year, he announced his candidacy for the City Council in the 20th CD.
Queens Borough President Claire Shulman told The Queens Courier that she was "hopeful that the Uniform Land Use Review Application would be completed by this fall." Aside from the proposed park property acquisition, Joyce also has had to deal with designation of a fire training academy site, as well as a site for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Assoc. All three items will be considered at CB 7s coming June 11 meeting as part of the Fort Totten Reuse Plan to ensure a speedy City takeover this fall.
The open space areas will be mapped as City parkland and be developed for recreation use by the Parks Dept. This will include the historic Forts battery, its Parade Ground, a new North Park, a picturesque waterfront esplanade along its Shore Rd., as well as other buildings designated for development.
Ultimately, the forts existing museum building will be converted into a visitors center, while preserving its tunnel and Water Battery for local tourists.
The Parade Ground will be upgraded. Its two soccer fields will be renovated to include automatic irrigation and night game lighting systems. Another sector will provide a play area for young children, and also retain the existing pool for public use.
Current plans call for up to 50 full, seasonal and part-time parks Dept. employees will work at Fort Totten. They will provide maintenance, pool operations, security, and general administrative services.All utilities will require the following major upgrading or replacement in order to ensure adequate operational capacity:
A new water supply system.
Reconstruction of storm and sanitary sewer systems.
New public streets.
While property acquisition from the government works very slowly, Joyce pointed out that local impacts are already being felt by local residents. In order to meet increased pedestrian and vehicular volumes, he is reaching out to the Transportation Dept. for a traffic study to curb anticipated congestion and safety problems.