A Forest Hills artist is seeking funding to install a 3D sculpture in MacDonald Park. The sculpture is meant to celebrate the diversity of Queens and draw both locals and tourists to the area.
Larry Ng, a long-time Forest Hills resident, has secured permission from NYC Parks to install the sculpture at the intersection of Yellowstone and Queens Boulevards on the doorstep of MacDonald Park.
Ng’s sculpture will consist of sheet metal welded to form large blue letters spelling “Queens.” It will be placed on a red base featuring “The World’s Borough” in white letters.
Ng aims to unveil the sculpture at MacDonald Park by March next year, assuming he can secure funding for the project. The sculpture will remain on display at MacDonald Park for a year before being relocated to a permanent home in the borough.
He said the sculpture will pay tribute to Queens’ diversity and the borough’s contributions to New York City.
“Queens is a mosaic of America’s rich and vibrant multicultural history,” Ng wrote on his website. “We need a sculpture that pays tribute to Queens’ ethnic and cultural contributions to New York City and the rest of the country. It is absolutely the best borough in the greatest city in the world.”
He said the 3D sculpture symbolizes the diversity of people from different ethnicities and cultures who have chosen to live together in Queens, sharing ideas, dreams, history, food and customs.
The sculpture will be placed at street level, making it easily approachable for photographs, and will weigh roughly 1,700 pounds, standing about six feet tall and 22 feet wide.
Ng has decided to use American Typewriter font for the 3D sculpture, mimicking the font used in the I❤️NY campaign.
Friends of MacDonald Park Founder Stephen Melnick, Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce President Leslie Brown, Rego-Forest Preservation Council Founder Michael Perlman and Forest Hills Asian Association Founder Edwin Wong have also endorsed the project.
Ng is now aiming to secure funding for the project, which will be funded by a combination of private donations and community crowdsourcing.
Forest Hills resident Kevin Sanichara has launched a GoFundMe to aid the project, stating that the 3D sculpture will bring recognition and pride to the borough of Queens.
“Friends and family, children and adults, residents and visitors will be able to pose together to take photos to share. It will be a popular meeting spot, bringing joy and smiles,” Sanichara said on GoFundMe.
