Lace up and go green!
Senator John Liu is inviting Queens residents to walk, run, or skip their way through Kissena Corridor and Cunningham Parks on Sunday, April 27, during a festive 5K Fun Run celebrating Earth Day and the power of parks.
The run will begin at 9 a.m., and participants will meet at the Peck Fields in Kissena Corridor Park on Peck Avenue and 193rd Street. The 5K route will wind along the Long Island Motor Parkway through Cunningham Park. The first 100 runners to arrive will receive a free t-shirt. This year, Earth Day falls on Tuesday, April 22.
Liu explained that the Fun Run will highlight the need for more interconnected parks in Queens and Long Island. Liu has introduced legislation to authorize a comprehensive study on extending the Long Island Motor Parkway from its dead end at Winchester Boulevard to the planned trail in Nassau, which would create a cross-county greenway.
“On Earth Day, we are reminded that our parks and greenways are so much more than just beautiful places to gather; they are vital infrastructures that are critical to our community’s health and connectivity. Our Earth Day Fun Run will celebrate these green spaces while highlighting the need for stronger, safer connections between them,” Liu said.
“We’re pushing forward legislation to study the expansion of the Long Island Motor Parkway trail, which would extend and link more communities to the Brooklyn Queens Greenway and, ultimately, the Empire State Trail. All are welcome to run, walk, skip, or sprint with us on our community’s stretch of the Parkway and celebrate Earth Day together,” Liu added.
Additional cosponsors include the New York Road Runners, Jamaica Estates Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Korean Road Runners Club, Cup Zero, NYC Parks & Recreation, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Eastern Queens Greenway, Queens Botanical Garden, Alley Pond Environmental Center, Korean American Association of Queens, and Kissena Synergy.
The sponsors will provide free giveaways, educational materials, and interactive activities.
The Alley Pond Environmental Center will display an array of natural objects, including a bird nest, feathers, animal pelts, and a turtle carapace. Additionally, the APEC will bring live Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Additional giveaways include hats and hip bags from NYRR and tabletop compost bins from Queens Botanical Garden.
Register for the event here.
