Monday, December 21, 2015

A Walk Through the Meadows, 2015 edition

Aerial view of Meadow Lake parking lot near boathouse
Aerial view of traffic circle

The following photos were taken yesterday of this same area. You can see that Rory Lancman had a point when he called the newly created Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Alliance a sham that will only spend money on the northern sections of the park, which comparatively are in great condition. It's a joke to have community listening sessions to get input for future projects, like "better signage" when an outstanding issue like this one is so blatant.
Come visit Queens - the World's Borough!

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's been this way for decades. Continuous flooding. Muddy walkways. Polluted lakes.

JQ LLC said...

To paraphrase that little racist kid from the bad news bears, if anyone remembers Tanner, those are pretty cruddy meadows.

Great photos, and again the advert/journo/tainment local news has not even done one single report on the second attempt to poach and privatize parkland.

Was those aerial pictures done with a drone, or is that googlemaps?

Anonymous said...

Never any mention of the Jamaica Yard expansion for employee parking into the park at the southern end.

Queens Crapper said...

Google maps provided the aerial views.

Gary W said...

Park looks great, lets build a Queensway!!

Anonymous said...

Could you imagine the outrage if Central Park looked like that?

Anonymous said...

The solution here is to design better drainage so that the water would naturally flow into Meadow Lake instead of ponding on roadways and pedestrian paths. To some extent, Parks is working on it. At the southern end of the lake, trees were recently planted to strengthen the soil, as part of an ongoing capital project.

Anonymous said...

Looks like it did in 1974 when my buds and I were running around the park looking for remnants of the Worlds Fair. One of the few things in this city that hasn't changed!

Anonymous said...

Merde instead of meadows!
Where is our burro president?

Anonymous said...

1) REDESIGN THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS
2) REDESIGN THE STREETS
3) REDO THE RESTROOMS
4) DRAIN THE LAKE, PURIFY THE WATER
5) INSTALL NEW LAMPPOSTS
6) INSTALL NEW BENCHES, SEATING
7) BUILD AMUSEMENT RIDES (OH, WAIT I MUST BE THINKING OF DISNEYLAND. SCRATCH THAT !!

Anonymous said...

"The solution here is to design better drainage so that the water would naturally flow into Meadow Lake instead of ponding on roadways and pedestrian paths"

This is a good comment. The area can be reverted more closely what it historically had been, a free flowing stream with kettle ponds. The lake is today just a bathtub of pollutants (and introduced species like snakeheads). I had always hoped that Flushing Meadows undergo a major cleanup and transformation like the Bronx River.

The Bronx River Alliance and NYC Parks successfully re-introduced alewife to that river system. They hope to re-introduce trout at some point. Beavers have come down from Westchester and reclaimed part of the system near the zoo. There are similar restoration projects going on in the NJ Meadowlands near Giants Stadium (Berry's creek).

Of course that probably won't happen here in Flushing. But to an extent, the Meadows can be reverted back to some semblance of a functioning watershed if the political will can ever be found.

Joe said...

Some of what your seeing in these photos are the large concrete slab footings for the monorail and the J copter ride that were never dug out when they were removed.
Parks kept the $$ and just tossed some grass seed or paving and now the rest of the park is sinking around them.

Anonymous said...

I no longer live in NYC, so I have no dog in this fight. But it's clear your politicians haven't changed. More of them need to follow Halloran, Hevesi, Silver, Skelos, et.al.

Dan M said...

Its just a matter of time until some corporation uses images similar to these as to why they should be able to buy the land for a song, and then the entire park will be gone.. Just a matter of time... And there will be nothing done since all those in "power" have already been bought and sold..

Joe Moretti said...

No pride in Queens what-so-ever and a perfect example of the poor leadership we have here who call themselves public servants, more like pubic asswipes.

But then you get what you vote for, but then the pickens are always so slim, that it becomes a choosing of the lesser of two evils or the smartest of the dumb. Either way, you are doomed.

Anonymous said...

Isn't the area in those photos around Meadow Lake, not Willow Lake?

Queens Crapper said...

Yes, I've corrected the post. Thanks.

Joe said...

Bumps in the ground in this photo are without doubt the 1964 Worlds Fair Monorail footings that were never dug out.
Photo:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1mxCvzqZcb8/VndkE_XlH4I/AAAAAAAA94A/yU6upnbOOQ0/s1600/IMG_1959.JPG

(sarc) said...

Yes

Let's give it to the developers...

Anonymous said...

They would never let Central Park get like this.

Jackson Heights Johnny said...

Poor David Oats must be spinning in his grave:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/19/nyregion/19oats.html?_r=0

Anonymous said...

Why do residents of Queens put up with this Crap ?
Even the new arrived transplanted Hipsters are more civic minded !
Long time Queens resident should be more concerned with the well-being of their community.

Anonymous said...

RESIDENTS OF QUEENS HAVE COMPLAINED FOR YEARS. I HAVE WRITTEN TO THE OFFICE OF THE BORO PRESIDENT AND EMAILED OUR LOCAL COUNCIL MEMBER BUT I JUST THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT REPRESENT THIS AREA ARE NOT MAKING IT A PRIORITY TO ENSURE THAT ONE OF THE CITY'S MOST HISTORIC PARKS IS WELL MAINTAINED.

THEY SHOULD HOLD FUNDRAISERS, CONCERTS IN THE PARK TO RAISE FUNDS TO HELP COMPLETE THESE NECESSARY RENOVATIONS. THE ONLY AREA OF THE PARK THAT GETS THE ATTENTION IT NEEDS IS THE USTA TENNIS CENTER OVER BY WILLETS POINT. I THINK IF THE NEW CONSERVANCY WERE TO BE RUN BY MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, HE WOULD REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE.WE ARE NOT LAZY. WE WANT TO HELP OUT BUT THE PARKS DEPT IS JUST NOT ORGANIZED AND IT IS HARD TO VOLUNTEER. HOPE THAT CHANGES!!

Joe said...

"THEY SHOULD HOLD FUNDRAISERS"

Yes but the $$ disappears and NOBODY investigates any of the accounting, kickbacks and expensive "perks" for special friends!!!

Tell ya a story :
Around 10 years ago Estelle Cooper had this fundraiser at Terrace On The Park for the NY State Pavilion. I had been working on the Hall of Science rocket restoration at the time and was given an invite to her "fundraiser" to go up and have some drinks. Well it looked more like a private party FOR HER and these Eastern Indian looking people and not one of the engineers I and people I knew present, Mr.Oats, and Wendy Brez included. !!
When Estelle spotted us she called the NYPD to have a reporters and myself ejected. That $500,000 raised was never seen and NOBODY has said a peep about other then (spent it on a study) it to this day !!
In this case THE BITCH PAID HERSELF AND THE CATERER WHO RAN THE RESTAURANT then paid some engineering firm a couple penny's to come up with "study" paperwork that sways says the same things are needed.

None of these people CAN NOT be trusted with fundraiser money !!!!
WHY ? Because NY is a 95/5 state meaning to people administrating the fundraiser can keep 95% of the money as administrative costs and personal fees and only legally obligated payout 5% to the cause.
These benefits, Charity's and 'fundraisers" are SCAMS because the public does not know about 95/5 percent law in New York State.

Anonymous said...

"THEY SHOULD HOLD FUNDRAISERS"
The parks should be maintain with taxes from the general fund !

Anonymous said...

Here's the secret: Accountability, Accountability, Accountability...

Anonymous said...

I prefer Bloomberg running the new conservancy over trump anytime. Has anyone been to the ice skating rink in central park that trump built. YIKES !!!