By Chris Fuchs
Parks Commissioner Henry Stern and Borough President Claire Shulman, along with other city officials and curious onlookers, celebrated the completion of a 1.4-mile promenade Tuesday that hugs Flushing Bay near the World’s Fair Marina.
“It’s great. Touch it. We’re here,” Stern said. “The promenade is done.”
Dotted with more than 1,200 trees and 17 drinking fountains, and lined with 1,000 feet of benches and six acres of green sod, the promenade, which took two years to finish building, was a tradeoff of sorts with the city Department of Environmental Protection, Stern said.
The designs were actually completed in 1987, but because of a lack of funding, the construction could not begin until May 1, 1999. Currently, the federal government is funding the cleanup of Flushing Bay, a waterway that empties into the East River but one that has become increasingly polluted with waste that has filtered into it.
As a result, Stern said, the department installed a 28 1/2 gallon underground retention tank under the Avery ballfields that will capture sewer overflow before it seeps into Flushing Bay. The sewage would then be treated and pumped into the East River, one measure in a larger effort to improve the water conditions in and around New York City.
The Department of Environmental Protection, in return, budgeted $14.8 million to build the promenade, so that parkgoers could enjoy a revitalized Flushing Bay.
One benefit will be realized by bicyclists and rollerbladers, Stern said. In fact, to christen the new promenade, the Parks Department brought both bicycles and rollerblades to the ribbon-cutting, and some spectators were busy putting the skates on toward the end of the ceremony.
“I came here the other day and saw bicycles going up and down,” Shulman said. “It was really wonderful.”
Shulman also said that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, one of the agencies working on cleaning up Flushing Bay, was in the process of removing what is known as a finger from the waterway, a platform that abuts the runway that gives planes at LaGuardia more room to stop, if necessary.
Reach reporter Chris Fuchs by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 156.
