Sunday, March 8, 2015

Astoria Park amphitheater may be built next year

From the Queens Tribune:

The long intermission for a planned Astoria Park amphitheater is ending, according to the Parks Department.

Designs for the amphitheater, which will transform the park’s defunct diving pool into an outdoor performance space, are set to be completed by the end of March with construction tentatively slated to begin in 2016, a Parks spokesperson said.

Plans for this amphitheater have been years in the making. Parks started its design process in 2012, and brought preliminary plans to the community in February 2013, meeting a critical but mostly receptive audience, according to published reports from the time.

An original design completion date of October 2013 was then pushed back due to a delay in obtaining materials needed for grading and drainage, according to the Parks Department.

Once design is complete, Parks will file for work permits to begin construction.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is going to cost 5 million dollars when its all said and done for seating of about 300 people.

Blocked by a diving board, and next to a noisy pool. No backstage, no stage, no protection from the elements.

All this to create 'amenities' for the waterfront development.

SOMEONE'S nephew is going to make a killing with this capital expenditure.

Paid with your taxes.

I simply cannot think of a better use for the money you give the city, can you?

When you think the community has reached a new low they continue to astonish us with another level.

Wait to the hiphop concerts start. Astoria will wake up, but as is always with that crowd, a bit too late.

ron s said...

Hardly the best use of the money.....someone's silly daydream becomes real.

Anonymous said...

If you build it, they will come !

Anonymous said...

If you build it, they will come !


Sure, er, to what?

This is a joke and a reflection on the level of 'culture' in Queens and Astoria specifically. Orphaned Queens Museum in the middle of nowhere, the awkward MOMI and Noguchi layout, Queens Theater lobby ... they just do not know how to design anything.

Go to Brooklyn or Manhattan and see what I mean.

But they know how to spend money. Your money.

Anonymous said...

I remember swimming and diving off the boards at Astoria Pool and using the regular pool for swimming, It's sad they had to close it due to idiots jumping of the boards and killing themselves doing belly-flops from the high boards also the pool died when the let all the day care kids in for free with no supervision or swimming skills. The lawsuits weren't far behind and the cheapest solution is close it up. Wait till you have some drownings, assaults etc at the reg. pool and they will close up, when the city realizes its cheaper to shut these down then pay the legal bills and millions to the illegals.

Anonymous said...

I remember swimming and diving off the boards at Astoria Pool and using the regular pool for swimming, It's sad they had to close it due to idiots jumping of the boards and killing themselves doing belly-flops from the high boards also the pool died when the let all the day care kids in for free with no supervision or swimming skills. The lawsuits weren't far behind and the cheapest solution is close it up. Wait till you have some drownings, assaults etc at the reg. pool and they will close up, when the city realizes its cheaper to shut these down then pay the legal bills and millions to the illegals.

Anonymous said...

Diving is a big thing - especially in China. There were diving clubs in Flushing that could have used this full time - and they would have supervised their activies as well as paid a fee to the city saving us millions on what is a boondoggle.

This is unworkable and is open ended on the budget. Instead of wasting water, it will waste our taxes for a very long time. We all know that our politicians never make a mistake and all cover each other which explains why Costa did not kill this like he was about to.

Vallone Jr was looking to rebuild the old band-shell that was in the park that was removed when the Triboro was put in.

This is what he came up with.

And those people up there love him. Go figya...

Anonymous said...

And Claire Shulman was responsible for teeing down the famous 1939 Worlds Fair "Aquacade". It was in good shape, despite the bad spin Shulman put on it. Now there was a real amphitheater! That old cow perpetrated a lot of destruction when she was borough president. She learned her shifty trade at the feet of her crooked boss, Donald Manes. What can you expect? This is Queens, the Wild West of destruction .

Anonymous said...

the ampitheater will never get done there, carve it in stone. the decrepit landmarked diving shithole will be there forever.