Recent years have brought a resurgence of sorts for the structure, titled a “Modern Ruin,” in a 2014 documentary. City officials and preservationists have rallied together and secured $14 million for vital structural repairs and ambient lighting for the pavilion.
But finding a firm that is ready — and able — to take on the project has proved to be its own challenge, causing even more delays.
Only two construction companies responded to a bid that went out earlier this year. Neither were deemed viable by the Parks Department.
The city will again solicit bids later this summer, and are hoping for a better response.
“We certainly knew it was a complicated project, especially with the lighting element,” said Janice Melnick, administrator for Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. “We would have loved to have more bids come in. It’s such an important job and we want to make sure we get the right contractor to do it.”
22 comments:
Tear it down already! Queens has no use for this piece of crap. Use the allocated money to fix our neglected parks all over Queens.
How about seeking a contractor to plant some on the fields.
Plant some grass on the fields first.
Blah blah blah...Same old empty promise. Just another distraction from the city's real issues; the rise in crime, the rise in rents, and lack of enforcement thereof !!
And Fort Totten continues to crumble for lack of funds...
It's supposed to be a park. They should just tear it down along with most of the other concrete monstrosities there and plant some trees. Make it a little more like Central Park and a real park
BIG WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!
An....the mini mind haters that spout off on Queens Crap. That's one of the things that makes me a great fan of this site.
Mostly, it's the unfettered truth to corrupt power that is permitted to be spoken here.
Bravo Queens Crap!
If they tear it down, the USTA will take it over for one more stadium or a parking lot.
Haven't I read this before--- in 1977, 83, 85, 91, 96, 99, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2015...? I'm pretty sure I have. Oh well, I'm sure the USTA will be happy to take over the acreage...once we pay for demolition and clearing.
"Anonymous JQ LLC said...contractor to plant some on the fields"
------------------------------------
Its not that simple because you have 2 major problems. The top soil
is depleted and wont hold water. 2 Grass wont grow because the he pH is so high from all the ash.
What you have now is this acidic gravel mix and ash that would have to be skimmed off and truckloads of top soil brought in.
The unions will be fighting over this for years, no contractor needs the kind of headaches to get ANYTHING done in that park.
Its as corrupt as it was in 1964, look at the fiasco with the New York State Pillion. They want modern lights but to bid the contractor must use the useless local electricians and parks people on the job. People who had their jobs handed to them who know nothing about such modern LED technology and all the electronics and software that run it.
The politics of that park are a disaster, a complete failure on all accounts.
A contractor cant get anything done.
...memory of a winter day in the early 1970's when
my sisters and I went to the ice rink there.
The walls still had the circus-like stripes at the time.
I say improve the structure,
nostalgia is as good a reason as anything...
Harry Haller
How about 'fixing' the empty space in Kew Gardens Plaza that fiscal genius Melinda Katz shelled out $920,000 to re-purpose a public plaza that didn't need re-purposing at all——BUT for the fact that her mad predecessor, Helen Marshall, spent $200,000 to remove a beloved 'Triumph of Civic Virtue,' where a majority ruled that the statue should stay right where it used to keep vigil since 1941——and simply cleaned, maintained, conserved and preserved, as per Marshall's and Katz's fiduciary contract to repair that great public art display of allegory (at a cost of less than $35,000), that was capriciously and arbitrarily robbed and evicted (all in one), on Saturday, December 15, 2012?
Here is what fellow community activist (and documentary filmmaker), Robert LoScalzo had to say in Queens Crap, on Thursday, May 5, 2015, regarding the absurdity of Marshall's unilateral decision to rob Kew Gardens of a 16-ton statue on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, no less:
❝As far as what is happening with the Triumph of Civic Virtue statue is concerned, one could never invent a story like this, because it just would not be believable.
City first denied any secret plan to move the colossal statue off of Queens Boulevard. City then implemented its secret plan, and moved statue to a Brooklyn cemetery on the pretext that cemetery would bear certain costs of restoring the statue. Instead, public funds paid to restore the statue——on the premises of the cemetery, where the statue remains now. Meanwhile, City is implementing separate plan to renovate the statue's fountain base at Queens Boulevard, at a cost that is 10 times greater than the cost of restoring the statue, and WITHOUT ever returning the statue to its base once everything is restored!
Would you restore the frame of the Mona Lisa, then put just the frame on display while sending the actual painting somewhere else, and expect the public to believe that's terrific? That's what is happening. The only beneficiary here is Brooklyn's private Green-Wood cemetery, which received a valuable colossal public art statue——still public property ——for the cemetery to display as it pleases.
That's why this issue is not over, yet. And, it's a perfect example of why Queens is the laughingstock of art, among all of the City's boroughs.❞
Listen to We, the People Melinda——or, you will end up like the 'dead-and-disgraced' Helen Marshall——only cubed in shame, dishonor, dishonesty and disloyalty for which you are already halfway there...
I am one that was fortunate enough to go up to the top. Great views! Rebuild what you can, no pipe dr3ams please.
Don't even give them any ideas to expand Tennis more than it has already. We don't need anymore stadiums that are used for 2 weeks out the years.
This IS NOT a park by any good standards!
You may wish to calm if that , but it ain't!
It's only kept to give the "natives" a spot so nobody acts out on the streets. Call it a booby prize park if you must.
FMCP? Fucked-up Managed Crap Park!
Jackasses, They already been told its $40 million to make it nice $80 million to restore it elevators and all.
They had no problem blowing $500 million for that day and after school wing of games, glue and fingerprint at the hall of science. Why wont they caught up 1/10th of that to fix an iconic structure the whole world see's every day
Dwell Betting - Wager on each Play of the Recreation.
Melt it down and make bikes out of it.
That FMCP conservancy group thinks they have power like the Central Park crew.
Without money they're just pulling their own chain.
How about 'fixing' the empty space in Kew Gardens Plaza that fiscal genius Melinda Katz shelled out $920,000 of other people's money to re-purpose a public plaza that didn't need re-purposing at all——BUT for the fact that her mad predecessor, Helen Marshall, spent $200,000 to remove a beloved 'Triumph of Civic Virtue,' where a majority ruled that the statue should stay right where it used to keep vigil since 1941——and simply cleaned, maintained, conserved and preserved, as per Marshall's and Katz's fiduciary contract to repair that great public art display of allegory (at a cost of less than $35,000), that was capriciously and arbitrarily robbed and evicted (all in one), on Saturday, December 15, 2012?
Here is what fellow community activist (and documentary filmmaker),How about 'fixing' the empty space in Kew Gardens Plaza that fiscal genius Melinda Katz shelled out $920,000 of other people's money to re-purpose a public plaza that didn't need re-purposing at all——BUT for the fact that her mad predecessor, Helen Marshall, spent $200,000 to remove a beloved 'Triumph of Civic Virtue,' where a majority ruled that the statue should stay right where it used to keep vigil since 1941——and simply cleaned, maintained, conserved and preserved, as per Marshall's and Katz's fiduciary contract to repair that great public art display of allegory (at a cost of less than $35,000), that was capriciously and arbitrarily robbed and evicted (all in one), on Saturday, December 15, 2012?
Robert LoScalzo had to say in Queens Crap, on Thursday, May 5, 2015, regarding the absurdity of Marshall's unilateral decision to rob Kew Gardens of a 16-ton statue on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, no less:
❝As far as what is happening with the Triumph of Civic Virtue statue is concerned, one could never invent a story like this, because it just would not be believable.
City first denied any secret plan to move the colossal statue off of Queens Boulevard. City then implemented its secret plan, and moved statue to a Brooklyn cemetery on the pretext that cemetery would bear certain costs of restoring the statue. Instead, public funds paid to restore the statue——on the premises of the cemetery, where the statue remains now. Meanwhile, City is implementing separate plan to renovate the statue's fountain base at Queens Boulevard, at a cost that is 10 times greater than the cost of restoring the statue, and WITHOUT ever returning the statue to its base once everything is restored!
Would you restore the frame of the Mona Lisa, then put just the frame on display while sending the actual painting somewhere else, and expect the public to believe that's terrific? That's what is happening. The only beneficiary here is Brooklyn's private Green-Wood cemetery, which received a valuable colossal public art statue——still public property ——for the cemetery to display as it pleases.
That's why this issue is not over, yet. And, it's a perfect example of why Queens is the laughingstock of art, among all of the City's boroughs.❞
Listen to We, the People Melinda——or, you will end up like the 'dead-and-disgraced' Helen Marshall——only cubed in shame, dishonor, dishonesty and disloyalty for which you are already halfway there...
http://queenscrap.blogspot.com/2016/05/planted-ruin-construction-underway.html
I remember the Fair. I was 10 years old and it was the coolest thing I ever saw (my family didn't even have color TV then). But even then, the NY State Pavilion perplexed me. What was it supposed to be? "The Tent of Tomorrow?" What the hell did that mean? The main thing it had was a giant mosaic tile floor map of the state. So big, you couldn't see anything but the space at your feet. Who cares? I was disappointed that the Fair's home state had nothing to offer. Oh, the elevator up was nice but so what. And you'd wait for ever on line. You had a better view from the tram or the PA Transport building. Are we not allowed to say the obvious ... that in 1964 it was a mistake (not to mention ugly and pointless), and now is just an eyesore. Tear it down and plant grass.
I can't believe there are people here who want to tear down one of the most iconic Queens landmarks. I bet you all cheered when Civic Virtue went away too.
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