Oct. 21, 2015 By Christian Murray
The park located on 48th Avenue between Vernon Blvd and 5th Street is about to undergo a $625,000 makeover, according to the state parks department.
Leslie Wright, regional director of the New York State Parks Dept., said that the basketball and handball courts will be resurfaced and the tot lot will be redone. Meanwhile, the red brick wall that lines the exterior of the park will be repainted and repaired.
Wright outlined these plans to members of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy at their monthly meeting last night and confirmed it with the LICPost today.
The revamp will be broken down into two stages, according to Wright.
The first stage will involve the overhauling of the basketball and handball courts, as well as repairing the wall. Stage two will involve the restoration of the tot lot, which is located on the corner of 48th Avenue and 5th Street.
The basketball courts will not only be resurfaced but the entire structure that holds up the nets will be replaced—along with the backboard.
Meanwhile, a 6 foot chain fence is going to be constructed above the back wall of the handball courts to ensure that balls don’t go flying into the residential building behind it.
The red concrete wall will be repaired and painted.
The building plans for stage one are expected to be completed by the end of November, Wright said. Construction is expected to begin in spring, with the completion date scheduled for summer 2016. Stage one is expected to cost the state $325,000.
“One of the key factors to the timeline will be the temperature,” Wright said, since putting down concrete is weather dependent.
The tot lot will be completed a month or two later. The design is expected to be finalized by the end of December, with construction beginning in spring.
The tot lot will cost around $300,000 and will feature interactive puzzles, climbing areas and a new safety surface.
“We are looking forward to seeing it happen,” Wright said. “There are a lot of families and kids in the neighborhood.”
Rob Basch, president of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, said that the state continues to put money toward the parks. He said in August the dog run on Center Boulevard was completed.
He said that the community is fortunate that the city and state continue to upgrade and expand Long Island City’s parks.
“These investments in the parks are investments in our community,” he said.
