By Stephen Stirling
The city Parks Department and the Bowne House Historical Society pitched Community Board 7 on their master plan for restoring Flushing’s oldest house Monday. But CB 7 Chairman Gene Kelty made it clear: If you are coming to his board, you do it on his terms.
The city agency and the historical group briefed the board on a multimillion−dollar plan to give the Bowne House and the surrounding 4 acres of green space a face−lift. Kelty halted the presentation, however, because the plan was expansive and at times confusing for board members, who had not been previously told about the plans.
“You haven’t met on our Parks Committee,” Kelty said. “So call us tomorrow, set up a time to meet with us before you come and give a presentation like this. If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do it right.”
The Bowne House, the historic home of freedom of religion trailblazer John Bowne located at 37−01 Bowne St., and the surrounding parkland, which includes Weeping Beech Park in Flushing, are currently preparing to undergo an expansive restoration project which will restore the house itself, build a new visitor’s center adjacent to it and revamp 4 acres of green space in the area.
“It’s really pretty miraculous that this green space exists after 350 years in New York City,” said Rima McCoy, speaking on behalf of the Bowne House Historical Society.
As part of the restoration, the Bowne House Historical Society is preparing to transfer ownership of the home to the New York City Historic Houses Trust, which will bring it under the control of the Parks Department.
The Bowne House, built in the late 1600s, will begin a restoration project this spring that will restore the home, which has fallen into disrepair in recent years. The restoration, funded primarily by elected officials, will cost well over a million dollars, according to the historical society.
The first phase of the Weeping Beech Park restoration, which will also begin in the spring, will cost $665,000 and begin in the spring as well. The first phase will revamp the park’s playground and install a water spray fountain on the south end of the park.
The entire park restoration project is expected to cost from $3 million to $4 million and will be centered around recreating a diverse horticultural setting that journals and other historic documents detailed in the area, McCoy said.
“We did a lot of research and came up with aspects of the site’s history that we could recreate,” he said.
A visitor’s center is also planned where an old shed currently stands on the Bowne House property. The project has not yet been budgeted, but is expected to be built once the Bowne House restoration is completed.
Both representatives from the Parks Department and the Bowne House Historical Society agreed to set up a meeting with CB 7’s Parks Committee prior to the board issuing any recommendation on the plans.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.
