Things were noticeably coming together. Promotional banners with big fuzzy tennis balls were hung on every post along the wooden-planked bridge from the subway stop to the tennis center. Construction workers were putting together a baggage-check area, and inside the grounds, larger banners, featuring tennis champions, past and present, had gone up. (It takes eight people to install the banners, Mr. Zausner said.)
Inside Ashe Stadium, Ashley Devolder, 26, from nearby Astoria, painted a fresh coat of blue on a wall near the players’ entrance and media center. Before this task, she said, she had been part of a team of 20 who freshened up the 34,000 armrests on the stadium’s seats. “We had to sand them, clean them, and paint them,” she said. “It took a week.”
Outside Ashe, rubble was removed and replaced by either grass or smooth asphalt. Lights were strung at the patio of Mojito, one of the Open’s sit-down restaurants, and a new bar had been built around one of eight hard-to-miss bright blue bases that support the new roof structure (Mr. Zausner’s idea). The main plaza was cleaned up, trees were replanted and colorful flowers were in place at the entrance.
15 comments:
Ask yourself this, every restaurant in NYC is graded, except the concessions at the U.S. Open. What's up with that?
Pay pay pay to entertain the rich and fabulous, yet the NYPD/PBA's contract gets delayed again. The city's priorities are clear.
sure takes a lot of work to create a temporary city for douchebags
Can't wait till that load of crap is over and the F outta here.
the daily news also did a map for this ostentatious display of crass capitalism,commercialism and consumerism
this is the city's version of the world's fair, with all the restaurants and promotion stands for banks and . But a high end upscale spending version all crammed into, walled off and isolated from the taxpaying masses in the stadium's area.
And what do these supposed philanthropists give back to the park and the towns around it, making millions from revenue and advertising. Zilch. Not even a card or a thank you. Look at the paths and the annual state of those 50 year old structures that Katz wants to renovate so badly.
It's okay though because with the lack of americans in the sport's highest rankings, save the iconic record-setting but obviously juiced up Serena Williams, and it's recent decision to broadcast on cable, interest in tennis will wane in this country.
Another city funded gift to tennis players is that school run by Mcenroe on roosevelt island. But don't tell Melinda that it's in Manhattan.
A celebration for the top 1 percent - fully endorsed by the "progressive" mayor and his administration, and subsidized by the taxpayers.
A facility that gets used only 2 weeks a year and amasses $millions in revenue while the city allows the surrounding park to rot.
This has been around since the 1970s since they left the Forest Hills tennis stadium. At that time, as you all recall, Flushing Meadows was a top-10 World Shit Hole Site. Also, Americans (and locals) were all about tennis back then. It brings in millions in taxes. It's not going anywhere.
Trying to show that Queens has class involves a super duper paint job. Let's paint the town.
When it's finally all over, the lipstick on the pig has faded, Flushing will return to the homey stink hole that it really is.
95% of all politicians have sold Queens down the river all for the vote to keep their jobs.
Don't forget the jet flight patterns from LGA will be changed and will bombard North-East Queens more than usual. Next-Gen sucks...
The tennis snob crowd gets a break from the Jet noise while North East Queens suffers like frogs boiling in water. David Dinkins our 106th Mayor and a member of the Board of Directors of the United States Tennis Association is responsible for getting N.Y.C. residents "hosed" by the deal made with the USTA.
Howard Stern was very right and now prophetic about the Mayor Of Tennis Dinkins and the opulent tax dollar devouring arena and event.
Isn't there a fine of a couple hundred thousand dollars the city must pay if a plane fly's over the stadium?Also didn't the USTA say after the last time they expanded that they would never do it again? Well they did expand this year to build more stadiums and cut down a couple hundred mature trees in the process.For us park users it will be two weeks of traffic and cars parking on the grass.They sure do a nice job beautifying the park with flowers around the stadium but the rest of the park is neglected.What ever happened with plans to narrow roadways and make more green space and plans to restore the Flushing Creek where it goes thru the park to the lake? I see there is finally work being done rehabilitate the lake with natural areas to improve water quality and make it more pleasing to look at.Central and Prospect Park lakes were also man made but when you stand on their shores you think you are in the wilderness.Flushing Meadow Lake is the largest lake in the city but all you see from it's shores are all the major highways with zero amount of landscaping.With all the sporting and entertainment events that go on there and billions of dollars being made and spent you would think we would have a world class park by now.
A couple of months ago they built an entirely new road in the park just off the exit, right before the museum. They built the entire road, including signage, blacktop, curbs, cutting out a huge part of the hill, etc. in like two weeks.
Meanwhile, local roads can't get potholes filled for months.
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