Summer Reopenings At Queens Parks
Children will once again enjoy merry-go-round rides in Forest Park and Flushing Meadows-Corona Park later this month as the Parks Department announced the selection of a new operator for carousels at both locations.
A Parks Department spokesperson informed the Times Newsweekly last Friday, May 4, that the agency and New York Carousel Entertainment “are negotiating the final terms of the license agreement” to reopen the carousels at both parks.
“We’ve given New York Carousel Entertainment a work permit to allow them to start the cleaning and maintenance work necessary to get the carousels ready for the public,” the spokesperson added.
“Both the Forest Park and Flushing Meadows carousels have thrilled generations of New Yorkers with their lifelike wooden horses and colorful light displays,” Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said in a statement released on Tuesday, May 8, adding that the rides will “again be spinning to the delight of both the young and the young at heart.”
According to a press release issued by the Woodhaven Residents Block Association (WRBA), the Forest Park Carousel could reopen in time for Memorial Day, Monday, May 28.
“The carousel is part of our community’s identity. We couldn’t be happier that the Parks Department has done the right thing-something we’ve requested for years-and gotten a deal done so that our community can enjoy it again,” said WRBA President Ed Wendell. “The ride is a beautiful work of art, a historic specimen that embodies our community’s heritage and a form of entertainment that has amused generations of Woodhaven residents. We’re overjoyed to have it back.”
“For a long time, I’ve said that our carousel is the jewel of Forest Park and a treasure that deserves better than the treatment it has received the last few years. Finally, we have a concessionaire who promises to restore it to its former glory,” added Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation Executive Director Maria Thomson. “This is a real victory- not just for the people of Woodhaven, but for all of New York City.”
Brought to Queens in the 1970s from Massachusetts, the Forest Park Carousel-located near the George Seuffert Bandshell-is considered to be one of just two merry-go-rounds in the entire country still in operation which feature wooden horses and ornaments created by master carver Daniel Carl Muller.
It has been closed since 2008 when the previous operator contracted by the Parks Department opted not to renew their agreement. Film makers briefly reopened the carousel last year as part of their production, and local residents have been actively lobbying the Parks Department to reopen the ride for chil- dren of all ages to enjoy.
The Flushing Meadows Carousel-located near the Queens Zoo-was opened at the 1964-65 World’s Fair and is comprised of horses and ornaments from two merry-go-rounds located in Coney Island and long-since closed.
In March, it was reported that Zamperla USA-which operates the new Luna Park in Coney Island- was the front-runner to receive the Parks Department contracts to reopen the carousels, but the agency never confirmed that report.
