Queensbridge Park Getting Facelift

Plans and joint funding for the massive $1.4 million reconstruction of the drab Queensbridge Park, in Long Island City, were announced by Councilman Eric Gioia [D-Sunnyside] and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
The soon-to-be upgraded park and playground will also clear up the park’s shabby East River waterfront to provide residents with attractive recreational and picnic areas and an unparalleled view of the River and Midtown Manhattan. Just north of the Queensborough Bridge, the 30-acre facility runs one-third of a mile along the river at Vernon Boulevard and 21st Street, in Long Island City.
Predicting that the park facelifting will re-energize the community, Gioia declared, “Today, we are not investing in a park, we’re investing in a neighborhood.” He is looking to upgrade the entire Queens westerly waterfront, between the Triborough Bridge and the Newtown Creek.
Renovations include a new synthetic turf soccer field, revamped volley ball courts, enhanced river front walkways, and a refurbished waterfront picnic area. Since the area is a hotbed for soccer players, they anticipate using the new facilities to house a new youth soccer league.
Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said that restoration of the Queensbridge Park would begin this fall and work will be completed in the summer of 2006.
According to the Economic Development Corporation, there has been a flurry of large-scale residential and commercial projects in Long Island City: the $2.3 billion residential and commercial Queens West waterfront development, just north of the Queensborough Bridge; a huge business and retail project will replace the Queens Plaza Municipal Garage; new movie studios, offices and residences are being built in the Silvercup Studios; the City Planning Department is preparing a new roadway design for the heavily-traveled Queens Plaza access to the Queensborough Bridge; as well as a new library, just east of the park on 21 Street.
Calling the new waterfront project an “investment in the park and the future,” Ms. Marshall said, “Our parks serve as oases for people of all ages.”