By Kohar Bayizian
There are many big parks in Queens that are beautifully landscaped and have lots of old, towering oak trees, playgrounds with the latest equipment, jetting sprinklers and lakes. These parks attract skaters, bikers, joggers and children.
But our borough also has quite a few little surprises. For example, on 48th Avenue off 215th Place in Bayside there is a tiny triangle-shaped island of shrubs, a bench or two and a few trees with resident squirrels and birds. And it is appropriately called Triangle Park.
Depending on the time of day, you might run into mothers with little children, elderly couples or dogs and their owners who take a detour through this half-minute of greenery.
It is a great place to watch the world go by, as it is situated off a heavily traveled road as well as near a path to an elementary school, a high school and a college. In the morning it serves as a rest stop for commuters trudging to the Long Island Rail Road.
This tiny oasis was part of my story, too. When I drive past that park these days on my way to college, it’s as if I can still see the 4-year-old me playing tag with my brothers as my grandmother, now bedridden with Alzheimer’s, is laughing at the sight.
And then there were the fifth-grade pit stops to share jokes and gossip before my friends and I went our separate ways.
I also remember my long walks back from Cardozo High School with an occasional pause in Triangle Park for a little serenity before facing my two brothers, two cats, a rambunctious dog and my mother.
But it makes me sad to see the litter and shabbiness that has crept into Triangle Park. It is a shame the city and neighborhood cannot work together to keep these mini-parks clean and pretty. It would be unfair for the children growing up in my neighborhood not to be able to make their own memories, as I have, in this tiny park.
Queens has many of these little places where people can retreat into a patch of grass and a few trees and imagine rolling lawns and a forest. After all, that is what New York does best — making the most out of the least.
