Park to get $1.7 million makeover

Windmuller Park in Woodside will get a long-needed $1.7 million makeover - allowing for a new amphitheater, a refurbished track, new exercise equipment, and improved drainage and landscaping.
City and state politicians as well as parks department officials broke ground at the rundown site last week.
“With this investment, we not only enhance the quality of life for Woodsiders, but we reclaim Windmuller Park as a true gem in our neighborhood,” said Councilman Eric Gioia, who grew up close by and played basketball and baseball in Windmuller Park when he was a kid. Gioia said that as a child the park was kept in pristine condition but landscaping was abandoned, the track cracked, and drainage worsened over the years.
Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said that like many parks, Windmuller had deteriorated, and repairs were included in the Parks Department capital plan. Begun on February 13, 2006, the first phase of the project will span several months and is expected to be completed by November. A second phase is in the works, but details have yet to be announced.
Gioia helped to secure $1.24 million from city capital funds for the park, located on Woodside Avenue between 54th and 56th Street. Assemblywoman Marge Markey helped to secure the remaining funds from the state.