By Jennifer Misthal
Just a mere 1.4 acres, the park, between Queens and Yellowstone boulevards, is a part of life for local residents, many who visit the park regularly to socialize with friends and enjoy nice weather. But with several weeks of summer left, MacDonald Park visitors are being temporarily displaced beginning next week, when the park closes for renovations, expected to take almost 10 months.
City Councilwoman Melinda Katz (D-Forest Hills) secured $700,000 for the renovations, which will include new benches, game tables, asphalt pavement, reinforced concrete pavement, metal trash receptacles, planting and a new automatic drip irrigation system. Additionally, the plans call for the reconstruction of existing seating areas, sidewalk and a drinking fountains. The park last underwent renovations in 1982 at a cost of $407,456.
It is senior citizens who appear to be the most vocal on the issue, in part because they comprise the bulk of the park's visitors. While they welcome changes to improve the park, the seniors' disapproval stems from the project's timing.
“When it's very hot, this is where I go,” said Lorriane Lewis of Forest Hills. Lewis, who is in her 70s, said many seniors cannot afford a vacation and seek temporary retreat in MacDonald Park.
“Where's her head?” Lewis asked of Katz. “She can move it up one month. We're locked up in apartments and we wait 10 months for July and August.”
Katz, who is cognizant of the disruption the project will cause, asked that the community be patient and understanding. “We apologize for any inconvenience the park's closing may have on you, but we are completely confident that when it is completed, you will have a beautiful new park more suitable to the needs of the community to enjoy for years to come,” Katz said in a written statement.
Closing the park for this summer enables it to be opened for the entirety of next summer, said Katz, who was in Boston for the Democratic Convention and was unavailable for further comment. Initially, Katz said she had planned to renovate the park in phases, enabling it stay open, but that plan proved more costly.
The park's temporary closure is personal for some, such as Sam Gaska, 80, who visits the park regularly. “I think this is against the senior citizens. I think they should have postponed it six weeks,” Gaska said.
With just days before the park closes, the only thing left to do is find a new place to spend the remainder of the summer, breaking the bond the park helped cultivate among patrons, Geraldine Peckham said. “Everybody knows everybody. We're all going to be broken up,” she said, noting that local residents will have to visit other parks this summer, a potential problem for Ralph Kronenthal, who travels to Forest Hills each summer to play chess at MacDonald Park.
“If I'd known that the park would be closed, I wouldn't have come,” he said.
