Those visiting Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens will have a brand-new municipal parking lot with 302 parking spaces next year.
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, along with NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) Queens Borough Commissioner Nicole Garcia and Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Associate Commissioner of Public Buildings Eric Boorstyn, broke ground on Monday on the new 122,360-square-foot lot.
The former four-deck parking structure that stood on the site since 1963 was torn down in September 2014 over structural safety concerns.
“I am pleased to work with DDC and Borough President Katz to bring municipal parking back to serve both Queens Borough Hall and the Queens Court Systems,” Garcia said. “Among the many tools NYC DOT uses to create safer and less congested streets, municipal parking facilities can provide communities like Kew Gardens [with] space that relieves the demand for on-street parking. With 302 spaces, parking in and around the borough’s vital civic center will be significantly improved.”
Set to open in the fall of 2017, the new parking lot will include six ADA spaces, one van accessible ADA space, ADA ramp access, seven motorcycle spaces, and four electric vehicle charging stations, as well as new stormwater management and sewer systems, sitting areas, lighting and landscaping.
“Queens Borough Hall and the Queens Criminal Court are places where the people’s business is conducted, so it is important that there be sufficient parking available so that the people of Queens can easily access these buildings,” Katz said. “The long-awaited, new municipal parking lot at Queens Borough Hall will alleviate current parking and traffic issues in the neighborhood and allow for more efficient processing of government business while also offering numerous modern amenities, including charging stations for electric vehicles.”
Drivers will pay for spots at the lot by Muni-Meter, the same way they would when parking on a street. The lot will serve visitors to Queens Borough Hall, the various court offices and the many businesses and modes of transportation around the area.
