Community Board 5 (CB 5) will hold a public hearing next month regarding the proposed plans for the reconstruction of the soft surface ballfields at Frank Principe Park, located on Maurice Avenue between Borden and 54th avenues in Maspeth.
Principe Park — especially the ballfields — has been the focus of community concern for several years. Currently, the sports fields are prone to excessive flooding and have not been upgraded since the park’s installation in the late 1980s.
The last major capital project for the park, a $3 million upgrade to the playground, tennis and basketball courts, occurred in 1996.
Last year, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley allocated $5.7 million toward the renovation of Principe Park, and in May of 2015, she held a visioning session at Maspeth Town Hall where residents came together with the representatives from the Parks Department to suggest changes that they would like to see made to the park.
“They are going to dig up the ballfields in their entirety, which means there is going to have to be a new drainage system installed. What I expect here is plans for a soccer field and two little league/softball fields,” said CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano. “I think the importance is more significant for soccer use. That’s the sport that has grown the most, to my knowledge, in the last 20 years. When the park was reconstructed 20 years ago the demand for soccer wasn’t known. The field, as it is now, is not very conducive to play soccer. I would expect it will be an artificial turn field.”
The hearing will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Maspeth Town Hall, located at 53-37 72nd St., in Maspeth.
For additional information or to register to speak in advance, call the CB 5 in Glendale at 718-366-1834. Speakers will be limited to a maximum of 3 minutes each.
