Little boy run over by hit and run moped rider in Flushing Meadows Park

 

NY Daily News

A tough little boy is on the mend after a hit-and-run moped rider slammed into him in a Queens park, the youngster’s dad said Monday.

Jonathan Beauchamps, 4, is “definitely pulling through” after he was struck and critically hurt in the parking lot of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park boathouse about 5:50 p.m. Sunday, his father, Christopher Beauchamps, told the Daily News.

“He’s doing better now. He’s pulling through. He’s a strong kid,” his dad said. “He doesn’t have any broken bones or anything.”

Jonathan suffered head trauma, and remains in critical but stable condition at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. The cowardly rider fled. No arrests have been made, police said.

Jonathan’s dad said he, his wife, his children and other friends and relatives were hanging out in the park, playing music, when a group of moped and dirt bike riders showed up to show off and do donuts.

“Bikes aren’t even supposed to be in that park. There’s kids. My son was saying it wasn’t even a dirt bike that did it, it was one of the mopeds,” he said. “It could have been worse.”

“If there were more kids, it could’ve happened to any (of them).,” he added.

Crappy anniversary

 

Melinda Katz makes her Pavillion dream come true

 

Queens Eagle

The Parks Department is continuing to rehab the old 1964 World’s Fair structures at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, breaking ground on the reconstruction of the New York State Pavilion Observation Towers last week.

“The work we are breaking ground on today will go a long way toward restoring the iconic New York State Pavilion to its former glory,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said in a statement. 

“This work will enable future generations to continue to enjoy the Pavilion’s distinctive Space Age architecture and be reminded about the important role the 1964-65 World’s Fair played in Queens history.”

The structures in the World’s Fair area, most notably the Unisphere, have become Queens landmarks. The $24 million project, funded by Katz, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Councilmember Franciso Moya, will see the towers’ bases waterproofed, electrical upgrades, structural preservation measures and stair replacement.

U.S. Open are deadbeat renters

THE CITY
 

Visitors are already starting to descend on Queens to attend the U.S. Open tennis tournament, which holds court in Flushing Meadows Corona Park next week.

Last year, a record of nearly 830,000 spectators passed through the United States Tennis Association’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

But according to a new audit by city Comptroller Scott Stringer, the USTA has not been playing fair with the city.

The comptroller’s probe found that from 2014 to 2017, the USTA failed to report $31 million in revenue, which would mean it owes more than $311,000 in additional rent to the city. In 2016 and 2017, USTA paid $6.6 million each year in rent to the city.

The audit finds USTA underreported benefits received from other companies and fees and took inappropriate deductions.

The USTA may also owe an additional $82,000 because of discrepancies in financial reports, Stringer’s office found.

The comptroller’s review also determined the lease’s restrictions on access to records hinders closer city oversight of the USTA’s finances.

“Any corporate entity leasing land from the city must pay its fair share of rent – no ifs, ands, or buts about it. The Tennis Center collects more than $300 million annually, and yet, it shortchanges city taxpayers,” Stringer said in a statement. “This arrangement should be a win-win, not just ‘advantage’ USTA.”

Some Queens residents said that the park doesn’t feel like theirs during the U S. Open, calling the Grand Slam tournament a complete takeover of the 1,255-acre park.

David Pastor, 29, a member of grassroots group Queens Neighborhoods United, said that the park is usually a safe haven for immigrant families and contended that this community character gets “overridden” around tournament time.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never even thought to go. It’s super expensive,” Pastor said. “You have to question who it’s for.”

Flushing Meadows playground sprinkler turned into a viral petri dish last July

Flushing Post


Parts of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park have been sanitized following a Shigellosis outbreak that infected 32 people.

In mid-July, during the blistering heat wave, scores of Queens parents took their children to cool down in the water sprinklers across NYC parks.

However, many parents who took their children to Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to escape the heat came to regret their decision.

Within a few days many children became feverish, nauseous, and/or had diarrhea.

The Health Department said in a statement that it investigated a Shigellosis outbreak associated with the park after “several individuals reported symptoms after playing in a playground with a splash pad or a large fountain.”

The Health Dept. noted that there have been 32 cases associated with the park and that it worked with the Parks Dept. to sanitize a number of areas to reduce the risk of Shigella transmission. One section that was targeted was the Playground For All Children, located by 111th Street in Corona.

The Parks Dept., in a statement, said that it “cleaned and disinfected Playground For All Children’s spray shower and other water features to [Health Dept.] specifications. As an additional precaution staff also cleaned and disinfected all other spray showers in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.”

Apparently, lead isn't the only thing in the city parks pipes you have to worry about.

Some improvements in Flushing Meadows Park

Dear Queens Crapper:

A few years ago I sent you some pictures of this stretch of road in Flushing Meadows Park.  After extensive work there was still significant flooding. Well, that stretch was under construction again recently (for a long time!) but they seem to have solved the drainage problem.  There is still a bit of water but this picture was taken today after a ton of rain this week.  This is on the north side of the lake.  They also fixed a chronically flooded spot on the south side. 

As you can see from the second picture, there is still work to be done, but I thought to be fair to the parks department I should let you know of the improvements.

NYS Pavilion getting some love from the Feds

From the Times Ledger:

The restoration effort of the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows Corona Park will receive more than $16 million in federal funding, according to U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

As announced on Nov. 26, the cash infusion will be used to repair and replace several electrical units at the World’s Fair Park and other areas which were severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

“The World’s Fair Pavilion is an enduring icon and it should be preserved and promoted for current and future generations,” Schumer said. “Now the pavilion is being restored and these federal funds will be used to repair damaged caused by Superstorm Sandy and help yet another community asset recover after the storm.”

The $16,468,030 grant was provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the New York Office of Management and Budget and will be used for repairs at the pavilion as well other storm-damaged areas of the park.

Overhaul for World's Fair Marina

From the Queens Chronicle:

Plans are in place for the World’s Fair Marina to receive a $32 million makeover, including a complete reconstruction of one of its piers.

The improvements to the marina, located on Flushing Bay in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, will focus on the deteriorating Pier 1. The pier, which is closed to the public, will be demolished and completely rebuilt under the plan.

Officials from the Parks Department told Community Board 3 at its Nov. 15 meeting the pier is “in pretty bad shape” and “in need of reconstruction.”

The Parks Department was in front of the community board looking to secure a letter of support before it puts its plan in front of the city’s Public Design Commission. Due to the snow that fell that day, the board did not have the required number of members present at the meeting to vote.

The construction budget of $32 million includes funding from City Hall as well as federal dollars designated for Hurricane Sandy repairs. The World’s Fair Marina was battered during the 2012 hurricane and suffered considerable damage.

Meetings happening about soccer team

From the Queens Eagle:

A caption crafted by the press office and sent to media outlets for publication said that Moya, Katz and Villa met to “discuss the future of ‘The Beautiful Game’ in ‘The World’s Borough.’”

“One option that was discussed is a proposal to build a 10,000 to 25,000-seat soccer stadium in the Willets Point redevelopment area that would serve as home for the Queensboro Football Club, a proposed new team that would play in the United Soccer League, a second division professional league,” the statement said.

The proposal for a soccer-specific stadium in Willets Point is nothing new. Katz and Moya even formed a task force to study Willets Point stadium proposals in 2017 and Katz reiterated her support earlier this year.

“I have not made it a secret that I support a stadium there,” Katz told Crain’s in February. “I think it would be a great thing for the constituents of the borough of Queens.”

But the press statement generated significant attention among die-hard soccer fans who had never heard of a proposed “Queensboro Football Club” that would play in the United Soccer League, a 33-team professional league that is considered the second-tier of the American soccer pyramid after Major League Soccer.

The proposed club name was first reported by the website SoccerInNYC.com (full disclosure: the site is operated by Eagle managing editor David Brand).

Soccer writer Chris Kivlehan saw the post about the proposed Queensboro Football Club on SoccerInNYC.com and dug deeper into the proposal.

As of press time, Katz’ office did not respond to request for comment. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Moya said he would get back to the Eagle with more information about the meeting.

On Tuesday night, Kivlehan shared more about what he had heard about the soccer club proposal in a post on the NYCFC subreddit.

“I made contact with a person at DV7 soccer who confirmed to me that it was something they looked at but said it was not currently an active project,” Kivlehan wrote. “This chat was in early Sept. Clearly with Villa, Katz and Moya meeting it indeed appears to be active. I heard stadium was more like 10k. I can’t see them building more than 15k for anything but NYCFC.”

Flushing Meadows still flooding

Hey Crappy:

The City just spent months and millions fixing this road and area in Flushing Meadows Parks. The result: it still floods!

Chris

I think we know the answer

Great piece over at City Limits.

That which benefits the NYC general fund doesn't necessarily benefit Queens neighborhoods.

Dragon boat race experience was crappy

"Hi Crappy,

I attended the races in Flushing Meadow and want to report the crappie conditions I witnessed on Sunday.

First of all the north end area of the lake is getting a much needed makeover and large sections are fenced off where trees are being planted and roads resurfaced. Many people had problems including me trying to figure out how to get to lake area where the races were. There were no signs set up to direct people thus people had to walk down a path only to find they could not get thru. I ran into two DEC officers and wanted to complain to them but they were having the same problem and said, "don't complain to us, call Parks Dept."

When I finally got to the lake I saw that our Park's Dept. did nothing to spruce up the viewing area which was on both sides of the boathouse. People lined up along the shore got to view a lake full of algae, a 10' long board, a sunken barrel a dead turtle and along the shore a rotting pigeon.

There was also an inadequate amount of litter baskets and people were just leaving trash on the ground. There were many corporate sponsors that gave away free stuff for the kids and that added to the trash.

I attended the races last year and saw the same conditions and even wrote to the Park's Dept but I guess they think it's not a problem.

One would think that for a big event like this the Park's Dept. would at least try and spruce up the area ,no I saw the same conditions I see in my bike rides around the park. This really is a tale of two parks. The area by the Unisphere, the theater, the museum and the tennis stadium gets all the attention. Hopefully the upgrades by the lake area will keep coming." - Rich

54 years later, city seeks contractor to fix "temporary" structure

From AMNY:

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.”

Disgraceful field conditions at FMCP

Dear Queens residents,

I have been involved and against the Flushing Meadows Park theft for several years. I am a founding member of Save Flushing Meadows Corona Park, I was featured on a radio call in show and in a video against the theft, I was a litigant alongside senator Avella and several other community activists in a winning lawsuit.

So you can imagine my disappointment when knowing, what I know about this park, and knowing that the Wilpons, and the USTA, make millions of dollars a year off of our parkland! I see the fields in this condition.

This is “field 6”. There are a few other fields in the same condition. This is appalling. Where is all the money going? We as a community deserve better, we expect better, we demand better.

Alfredo Centola
Community Activist

AirTrain will chip away more land from FMCP

From NBC:

Residents in northern Queens are crying foul over a plan to create an AirTrain to LaGuardia Airport. Roseanne Colletti reports.

Happy Valentine's Day from the NYC Parks Dept

From AM-NY:

Decorative fountains built more than 50 years ago for the World’s Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park are getting a new life — and new purpose — as part of a $5 million renovation next year.

The Fountain of the Fairs, part of the majestic water displays constructed for the 1964-65 World’s Fair, will be transformed into playful spray showers and mists where kids can cool off during the summer.

It will be a return to glory for the empty fountains, which Robert Moses designed to cascade from the Unisphere to the Rocket Thrower statue. The fountains were up and running after an extensive renovation in 2000, but broke within a few years and were later damaged in flooding from superstorm Sandy.

The city Department of Parks and Recreation decided to find a way to revamp them, setting up community meetings and listening sessions in 2015 and 2016 to figure out the best use of the space.

The community overwhelmingly asked for more water options, according to Janice Melnick, the administrator of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Chronicling the US Open invasion

"Hi Crappie, I was in Flushing Meadow Park and took these photos of all the parking lots that are marked for the US Open.Of the 6 parking areas all are on grass except 4a and 4b which have paved over many years ago for parking.

The electronic sign is directing cars to Citi Field for parking. The two adjacent parking lots by the Queens Museum are used for all the emergency vehicles and there are more police vehicles all throughout the park as every car the enters the park must be inspected at various check points.

Remember the lie put forth by the Wilpon's and Related developers that Citi Field parking lot is not needed? This week on top of hosting the US Open there was two days of concerts by Lady Ga Ga.There was a traffic nightmare and I saw cars going all through the park on the various roads not just the outer roadways and none are well marked and are dangerous to cars,bikes and pedestrians alike.

Yes there are plenty of parking areas in the park and surrounding areas but Citi Field lot is well used too and needed.Add a mall with stores, restaurants, movie theaters on top of the Met's, US Open and large events and concerts is a recipe for disaster and not what a park should be.

The Mayor and our city council wanted a mall so I guess their plan is to use our park as a parking lot for all the stadiums they want to build.

I sure hope the city is making lots of money from the US Open because one can only imagine what it is costing us with all the police,firefighters and other assorted first responders involved each day.I know one thing the money isn't going back into the maintaining the park.I bike from the Promenade along Flushing Bay to around the lake all the time and I see roads not marked and in bad shape, I see homeless camped out on the rocks of the bay, I see lots of garbage washed up on the shore.Yes for the Open they plant lots of flowers and it looks pretty for the people going in but with all the millions of dollars from baseball,tennis and concerts you would think we would have a world class park up there with Central and Prospect Park.

I've been trying for 12 years just to get the city to put in a crosswalk for pedestrians walking and biking to the Marina and they have done nothing.They spend millions on building a promenade not realizing the people are going to want to get to it and this is a very busy road with trailer trucks whizzing by. For years I wrote the Park's Dept. and they said there was no funds available and there is a Master Plan and these things take time. This year I contacted Councilwoman Ferraras's office and they contacted DOT to do a traffic study.

The city is so concerned about putting bike lanes everywhere how about in Flushing Meadow after all it is a park and there is even a bike rental concession .Biking around the park there are no bike lanes or signs informing drivers to share the road and many of these roads drivers treat as extensions of the highway's that surround the park.

The future of the park looks grim, when you think that the Mayor ,the City Council and the Boro President all were in favor of the shopping mall and it was only a small group that opposed the plan that got it stopped for now.Remember the Formula 1 race track that was to race around the lake or the many stadiums that have been proposed?It will only be a matter of time when a plan will come along that can't be refused and the people will be too complacent to care." - Richard

City, Wilpons suffer devastating court defeat

From the Village Voice:

After eight years, two lawsuits, countless delays, & three city reversals, the plan for a mall at Willets Point has finally been defeated. And much like the Mets these days, it lost badly.

In a 5-1 decision, the Appeals Court upheld a lower court ruling that held the owners of the Mets could not build a mall on city-owned parkland. The land in question, the former site of Shea Stadium, which was demolished in 2008, is currently the Mets parking lot. A 1961 law allowed that parkland to be used for stadium purposes, a cut-out that a mall would not have satisfied, the court found.

“There is no dispute that the Willets West development is proposed to be constructed entirely on city parkland,” the judges wrote, continuing that the “public trust doctrine,” which dictates the uses for public lands “is ancient and firmly established in our precedent.” Nowhere in the Mets owners arguments, was a mall found to be in line with the public trust doctrine, the court found.

The Mets owners were arguing that by using the mall to fund the remediation of Willets Point (a parcel of land on the other side of their current stadium), and eventually the construction of both affordable housing and a school, the mall was fulfilling the public trust doctrine. The court found that too to be unconvincing, and also didn’t believe the Mets owners were actually going to build the housing or schools.

But wait...these tweeders may not yet be finished! From NY1:

Although the ruling does block the developer from moving forward, the legislature can still step in and intervene.

The legislature would have to vote to use the land for Willets West for non-park purposes. It would also have to find a replacement property to designate as parkland.

AG comes up with bogus reason for mall support

From the Queens Chronicle:

After the Chronicle mentioned that Schneiderman has received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from members of the Queens Development Group — a joint venture between Sterling Equities and the Related Companies — a Schneiderman spokesman, Doug Cohen, cited innocuous government interests as the real reason the Office of the Attorney General is involved.

“As the lawyer for the State, OAG is acting at the request of State [Department of Environmental Conservation] and the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, which identified State interests related to future environmental clean-ups, and the proper uses of parkland,” he said.

Judges skeptical of mall on parkland

From the Daily News:

The state's highest court tossed a curveball to the city and a Queens developer hoping to build a $1 billion mall near Citi Field.

At least four judges on the six-judge panel of the Court of Appeals appeared skeptical of arguments by the city, state and developer, Queens Development Group, that the mall could be built on a parking lot designated as parkland.

“The primary purpose of this activity is a private purpose: to lease space and set up a shopping mall so people will spend money in the context of going to a sports event,” Justice Eugene Fahey said Tuesday. “Aren’t we required . . . that this particular development be approved by the Legislature?”

The oral arguments, which took place in a special session in White Plains, revolved around the 1961 law allowing the construction of Shea Stadium in Flushing Meadows Park. The mall and movie theater, dubbed Willets West, would be built on the 30-acre site where the stadium once stood.

Assistant Solicitor General Anisha Dasgupta argued for the state that the proposed mall does have a public benefit because it will include public spaces and free attractions that go beyond a standard retail center. She noted a rooftop garden would be open to kids.

City attorney Michael Pastor echoed that argument.

“This is a public attraction. . . It’s a large public space. There’s public programming there,” he said.

But those public benefits didn’t override the project’s overall purpose, which seemed to conflict with the law’s original intent to allow a ballpark in the park, Fahey said.

“We can clearly see the economic viability of the project,” he said. "(The law) was aiming to provide a home for the Mets . . . now how far can you go askew of that?”