The city is set to restore 12 acres of wetlands surrounding Flushing Airport as part of a plan to extend 132nd Street in College Point.
The city Economic Development Corporation released a public bid last week to find a general contractor to work on the project, which will restore the open wetlands that are home to many plant and animal species.
The restoration work is required by the state Department of Conservation and will also form a stable foundation for the roadway, the EDC said.
The restored wetlands will also provide a habitat for wildlife life to thrive and will filter toxins from water which drains into Mill Creek and Flushing Bay.
The Flushing Airport was once one of the city’s busiest airplane hubs before it was closed in 1984, but has since sat idle and vacant.
Part of the site, which is not protected as wetlands, came close to being redeveloped in 2004, but plans pushed by the Bloomberg administration to build a 585,000−square−foot wholesale distribution center were scuttled amid significant community opposition.
A few years later, a number of community leaders tried to convince the EDC to build a soft recreation site there. It would have included baseball fields, a driving range, an education center and nature trails, all designed with green infrastructure in mind, but the city did not approve the plan.
A spokesman said EDC continues to explore possibilities for the site.
James Cervino, a marine scientist who pushed for the soft recreation site and the chairman of Community Board 7’s Environmental Committee, said that if the land is redeveloped for industrial use, it will require a buffer zone around it to ensure the wetlands are not contaminated.
9 comments:
Are they going to build a buffer to keep the road from contaminating the wetlands?
How exactly will this work for the geese - is this just going to be a holding pen from where the city can then round up the babies and KILL THEM??
That site deserves to be made into permanent parkland. We don't need anything else there. Fix and extend the road as planned (making sure runoff from the street doesn't pollute the wetland) and then designate the site parkland.
I'm waiting for the first moron politician who is going to say that we need affordable housing there.
"How exactly will this work for the geese - is this just going to be a holding pen from where the city can then round up the babies and KILL THEM??"
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Queens Crap was on it over 4 years ago!!!
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2010/05/flushing-airport-becomes-bird-sanctuary.html
Baseball fields, an education center, and a driving range absolutely should not be on this site. A wildlife refuge with minimally invasive trails is much more appropriate. There are enough usually vacant fields nearby.
What happened to the Korean Industrial Park plan?
"What happened to the Korean Industrial Park plan?"
Read this:
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2004/8/20040219-archive60.html
More articles:
http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2004/18/20040429-archive59.html
http://www.qchron.com/editions/north/flushing-airport-s-future-remains-in-edc-limbo/article_4bb35544-1a2d-5562-be63-e8f77a4c860f.html
There are so many geese flying into planes and mosquitos carrying west nile, they need an air traffic controller
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