Community Board 11 unanimously approved the design plan for the long-awaited reconstruction of Captain Dermody Triangle in Bayside Hills at a recent board meeting.
For years, residents of the northeast Queens neighborhood and nearby areas have called on the city’s Parks Department to rehabilitate the green space despite recent budget cuts that put these plans on hold. But following a Parks Department presentation to CB 11’s Parks Committee back in March, the reconstruction project is once again moving forward.
According to a spokesperson from NYC Parks, the $500,000 Dermody Triangle project is currently in the design phase, which lasts about 12 to 18 months per the department’s website.
At the April 5 meeting, Parks Committee Chair Paul DiBenedetto said that the committee as a whole approved of the plan. Additionally, DiBenedetto said that the Parks Department answered all the questions raised at the committee meeting.
“This $500,000 project will create a seamless transition between the historic war memorial green space and the surrounding community by constructing new entrances and pathways,” a Parks spokesperson told QNS.” Upon completion, the Triangle will feature new sidewalks, decorative pavers, benches [and] a reconstructed retaining wall. A new replica bronze plaque honoring Captain William C. Dermody will also be installed to replace the former plaque that was stolen.”
Parks added that project funding was provided through the Dormitory Authority State of New York (DASNY) program.
Following the design phase, which is expected to be completed by fall, the plan will continue with a nine-month procurement stage and finally a 12- to 18-month construction stage.
“I’m on the board of the Bayside Hills Civic Association [and] we’ve really been waiting more than five years for this project,” CB 11 member Eileen Miller said at an April 5 meeting. “So we want to move forward with whatever [Parks] can do sooner rather than later.”
Captain Dermody Triangle was named for William C. Dermody, a 19th-century abolitionist who died during the Civil War battle of Spotsylvania in Virginia.
