Long Island City residents who frequent Gantry Plaza State Park will see a number of renovations come next summer, but some are saying they would have liked to have been included in discussions about the new features.
Leslie Wright, regional director of the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, presented the plan at a Community Board 2 meeting on Dec. 3.
Sheila Lewandowski, CB 2 second vice chairperson, said the park located on 48th Avenue between Vernon Boulevard and 5th Street was “poorly designed.” At the board’s meeting Thursday night in Sunnyside, Lewandowski, who lives near the park on 49th Avenue, said trash has flown over to neighboring yards and that park patrons have climbed the wall perimeter into her backyard to retrieve lost basketballs.
She added that one day, a glass bottle was thrown over the wall to her neighbor’s yard, missing her neighbor by inches.
“It’s a state agency issue,” Lewandowski told The Courier. “They don’t have systems through which they communicate directly with communities they’re serving and it causes a lot of problems.”
The park was designed by Queens West Development Corporation when active recreation spaces were being developed near residential areas. The park was transferred over to the State Parks jurisdiction several years ago and the agency has been “stuck” with a design they did not create.
Lewandowski would like to see a large fence placed over the wall to deter people from climbing over. Wright also said the weeds growing on top of the wall will be removed but Lewandowski noted that the weeds have actually deterred people from climbing the wall, which has small grooves that allow people to easily scale it.
Lisa Ann Deller, CB 2 first vice chair, also said that the design felt like a “done deal” and that the Parks Department did not provide enough opportunities for community engagement. Deller asked the regional director if comments were still being accepted.
“There are always challenges with parks in an urban environment,” Wright said. She also added that the agency would “absolutely” be open to hearing suggestions from community members about improvements.
“If were going to find solutions [they should be] driven by people who are affected by it,” Lewandowski said. “The [State Parks Department] should sit down with those who are affected in a negative way.”
The basketball courts will receive new backboards, posts and nets and a new surface. The red perimeter wall closest to the sidewalk will get a new coat of paint and preventive features to deter skateboarders and a higher fence will be placed around the handball courts to make sure objects do not end up in neighbors’ backyards.
Construction for the courts will begin in spring 2015 and be ready next summer. Renovations for an existing “tot-lot,” a small playground for 2- to 5-year-olds, that was closed several years ago will begin in February 2016 and be open to the public next fall.
