By Adam Pincus
The redesign of the Corona Golf Playground envisions an intense and energetic use of the space, filling it with exercise equipment, water features and a variety of ball courts, Queens parks landscape architect Steve Whitesell said during his presentation.”There is a lot of play value in these elements,” he said, speaking of the 1 3/4 acre park. “We want as much activity as possible in a small area.”In contrast, the plans for the park in Elmhurst on the old KeySpan tanks site, between Grand Avenue, 80th Street and 57th Avenue, is for a wide open, grass and tree covered landscape, Queens parks landscape architect Nancy Prince said.”The biggest thing is to make it green,” she said, describing how planners hope to use the existing topography to begin to transform the landscape, creating a meadow effect with sloping hills and longer vistas.Community Board 4, representing Elmhurst and Corona, is one of the districts that elected officials and park advocates say is most in need of park space in Queens, and an important part of the development of a park is the presentation of the design to the community board for a public review.Both presentations used elements of history to explain some of their design elements. Whitesell explained the playground's name, saying he believed the park originally had a golf use at the time of the first World's Fair, which was held in 1939 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. That park is just across the street from the playground, located between 109th and 111th streets and 46th and 47th avenues.Whitesell said plans include using park benches with designs from the 1964 World's Fair, though in a tip to modern technologies, he indicated they would use a rubber surface under the children's swings, and spinning spheres that pivot as play toys. The park is estimated to cost $1.75 million in funding from the Borough President Helen Marshall, chief of staff for Queens parks Joanne Amagrande said at the meeting.The Elmhurst park, Queens parks landscape designer Helen Ogrinz said, was near a site once occupied by an orchard. Because of that they were considering adding similar trees.”Bring in a small orchard of crab apple trees,” she suggested, among a variety of different trees.The plan also might include a dog run and a water fountain, the designers said.The park is on the former site of gigantic natural gas tanks built in 1910 and used for 80 years. In 1996, KeySpan demolished the tanks and removed them from the property. At an announcement Nov. 4, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he had allocated $19.6 million in capital funds over the next three years to the construction project. At the meeting Tuesday, the designers said there was approximately $10 million available for the park.Reach reporter Adam Pincus by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
