The Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy
Select a Page
NYC Parks
Happenings
Reception 2004
Mission
Become active
Officers
Willow Lake
Contact Us
FMCP Conservancy Cocktail Party
At Dante's September 18 2008
Honoring Bill Gilbert
Wednesday, September 17th 2008, 9:25 PM
Hagen for News
The New York State Pavilion, with its space-age design, was built for 1964 World's Fair but now sits in disrepair.
After decades of neglect at the New York State Pavilion, the city wants the 1964 World's Fair icon added to the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in rehab grants.
The move follows months of activity at the long-decaying structure, where workers lowered broken, loose elevators in July and are now patching concrete on the three towers and the columns of the Tent of Tomorrow rotunda.
"It's really an exciting time for the pavilion," said John Krawchuk, the city Parks Department's historic preservation director. "We're very positive about its future."
Preservationists praised the city's quest for state and federal funds, which may help pay for efforts to stabilize the pavilion and save a terrazzo map of New York State on the rotunda floor.
The state Historic Preservation Office - which approves sites for the register - called the pavilion a "nationally significant resource" in a 2003 letter to the city, and is "interested" in listing it, spokesman Dan Keefe said.
But Queens civic leader Greg Godfrey wondered why the Parks Department didn't push for city landmark status, which would bar major alterations and demolition at the pavilion.
"It doesn't make much sense," said Godfrey, president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World's Fair Association.
Krawchuk responded that city landmarking is "always a possibility," but takes much more time and effort than applying for the national register.
The city Landmarks Preservation Commission is reviewing the pavilion, said agency spokeswoman Lisi de Bourbon.
Designed by famed architect Philip Johnson, the pavilion's space-age design made it an unofficial symbol of Queens - along with another 1964 World's Fair relic, the Unisphere.
But the impressive edifice fell into disrepair after the fair ended in 1965, with vandals picking away at the New York State map and cracks developing in the towers and columns.
Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, said the city's move to put the pavilion on the national register signaled sincere interest in restoration.
"People have been talking about wanting to save it since pretty much the World's Fair," Bankoff said. "I would view it as a step in the right direction."
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park
Dedication of a Sign at Meadow Lake by Senator Frank Padavan June 10
2008
Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (Meadow Lake)
Local Boy Scout Troop with Senator Frank Padavan helping clean up Meadow Lake
May 17 2008
A WILDERNESS LOST ON THE CITY
By William C. Thompson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
New York Times OpEd, May 29, 2008
MANY people are astounded to learn that there is a teeming wildlife preserve in
New York City. Ridgewood Reservoir on the Brooklyn-Queens border is an oasis
where an amazing range of plant and animal species thrive in a verdant landscape
of steep hills and narrow valleys amid the city’s paved sidewalks.
But what’s more astounding, the city’s Parks Department could wind up destroying
it. Ridgewood is an accidental wilderness, tucked alongside the Jackie Robinson
Parkway. Built in 1858 to provide drinking water to Brooklyn, the reservoir was
abandoned in 1989. As the 50 acres reverted to wetlands, meadows and forests,
tens of thousands of plants and trees took root and flourished. Turtles, fish,
frogs and millions of insects moved in. Songbirds nested in the glades,
transforming the area into a migratory rest stop. According to the National
Audubon Society, 137 species of birds use the reservoir, including eight rare
species. It is a place as close to unspoiled nature as you’re likely to find
anywhere within city limits.
Yet, the New York City Parks Department is considering a $50 million
“renovation” project that would cover more than 20 acres of the reservoir with
athletic fields and facilities. This plan flies in the face of Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s widely hailed environmental blueprint, which bemoans the
loss of the city’s natural areas. The Parks Department’s own scientific
consultants have warned against disturbing the reservoir, an area they call
“highly significant for the biodiversity of New York City and the region.” The
parks commissioner has said the city needs the athletic fields to combat
childhood obesity. This is an important objective, but the money that would be
used to destroy this extraordinary natural habitat could be better spent
improving Highland Park, next to Ridgewood Reservoir. Highland Park has plenty
of ball fields to serve its neighborhood, but they are in such deplorable
condition that few people use them.
Ridgewood’s natural preserve is a great place for people of all ages to walk and
hike. Its trails should be upgraded with benches and rest areas as well as
markers pointing out unique flora and fauna. The Parks Department should also
open areas of the reservoir for guided nature walks, a great educational tool.
Ridgewood Reservoir offers visitors a rare chance to lose themselves in a
forest, to hear bird song, to touch wilderness and to sense the divine. The city
shouldn’t let that slip away.
Willow Lake Brush Ignites
by Jillian Abbott, Chronicle Reporter
04/24/2008
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Flames from a brush fire leapt 20 feet high, and smoke blackened the skies, shutting down the Van Wyck Expressway near the Willow Lake section of Flushing Meadows Park on Friday. A relay of helicopters hovered over the park carrying water to douse the flames.
Bus drivers milled
around Jewel Avenue, their parked buses adding to the traffic chaos in the area.
“When I first saw the blaze on 208th Street, around 2 p.m., the flames were
above the street lights. They told us to stop driving and we haven’t moved
since,” said driver Bob Graziano, as he stood at the corner of Jewel Avenue and
the Grand Central Parkway waiting for the order to return to his bus.
By 3:30 p.m., the Van Wyck was open again, but Jewel Avenue was still blocked
even to pedestrian traffic. “I’m just trying to get to my home for the
holidays,” said a man who was told he couldn’t walk across the Jewel Avenue
bridge over the Grand Central Parkway.
Police and firefighters at the scene could not confirm how the fire started or
how many acres were affected. “It’s all over,” said one, as he walked up the
ramp from the expressway, his face smeared black with carbon.
Friday was the warmest day of the year so far, and just as the weather brought
people outside to enjoy the spring sunshine, the sky darkened and plumes of
smoke rose hundreds of feet into the air engulfing the roads and nearby homes.
Christian Villarroel, a Fire Department spokesman, said that the fire was a
three alarm, meaning that 138 firefighters in 33 fire vehicles were called. The
FDNY received the call at 12:26 p.m. and the fire was declared under control at
3:20 p.m.
Located near the train yard at Union Turnpike and 141st Street, the fire was
classified as a rubbish fire because it took place in brush, not buildings. Villarroel
was unable to confirm how many acres had burned by Monday, although the cause
and extent of the fire is under investigation by fire marshals. No injuries were
reported. The Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy had planned to
celebrate Earth Day, 2008 with a walk around Willow Lake on Sunday, but were
forced to cancel because of the fire. “Acres of it were burned out,” said Pat
Dolan, FMCPC president, noting that Willow Lake Natural Area is a New York state
protected wetland.
While a fire such as this can renew wild places, Dolan didn’t see the need in an
urban setting. “This is a rare stretch of green in the middle of the city,” she
said adding that the nearby residents of Forest Hills wouldn’t be happy. Judging
by past experience, however, it is anticipated that the area will be green again
within a month.
According to NY1, despite the fire trucks and helicopters, about 20 acres of
wetlands were damaged. Greg Godfrey, president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona
Park World’s Fair Association, said that nature has her forces of renewal. “The
smoke was intense with large embers carrying through the wind across the Van
Wyck Expressway,” he said, noting that the smell of smoke quickly reached the
Unisphere.
He blamed the Parks Department for not maintaining the area properly, adding
that the man-made nature preserve should have been on the Parks Department’s
watch list, and the overgrown marshes should have been the subject of a program
to prune the growth. “I went out for a simple bike ride through the park, left
coughing and cleaned carbon off my face when I returned home.”
Dorothy Lewandowski, Queens parks commissioner, explained that Willow Lake was
not a lawn area, but a wild area, and the reeds there provide habitat for
animals. “The combination of dry vegetation, warm weather and children home from
school on break, can sometimes lead to fires,” she said.
Although she couldn’t confirm that the fire was started by children, she said
that there had been reports of youngsters fleeing the area around the time the
fire started. Godfrey was outraged that the lives of firefighters were put
in jeopardy and said that the police had to send basketball players in the park
home because of smoke. “Too bad the smoke was blowing
northeast and not toward City Hall — maybe the “green” mayor would finally see
the smoke signals that all is not well in the park systems of the ‘outer
boroughs,’” Godfrey said.
Conservancy and Park Celebrate Earth Day With a Canoe Ride
Earth day was celebrated by the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy along with the Urban Park Rangers and the citizens of our community by attending a "Canoe Ride" at Meadow Lake, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Under the supervision of Sergeant Howward Kreft who is the supervisor of the Queens Urband Park Rangers, memmbers of the Queens community A canoe ride. Sunday morning at 11:30 members of the Queens community and their children gathered at the southern end of Meadow lake and signed up for a canoe ride the first ever given in celebration of "Earth Day".
"To View Full Sized Photos "Click" on them Click the back button on your Browser to return to this page"
 Waiting for the canoe ride |
 Signing Up |
 Checking things out |
 Handing out Life Vests |
 Showing how to adjust Life Vest |
 This is how you paddle |
 Oops the canoe rolls over |
 All is well and now in the water |
 Another successful lanuch |
 Isn't the lake wonderful??? |
 Dave Kulik "Treasurer" FMCP soncervancy in Kayak |
Park Rangers
Take Residents Out For a Canoe Trip!
To display full size click on
photo
 Photo by Edward Fisher |
 Photo by Edward Fisher |
 Photo by Edward Fisher |
During the later days of August, our Flushing Meadows-Corona Park rangers took residents of our fair borough of Queens out in canoes and led them paddle their way from Meadow lake (formerly the "Blue Lagoon" of the World's fair to Willow lake which is on the other side of Jewel Avenue and in the Federal Wildlife preserve.. The canoes and paddles and life jackets were supplied at no cost to those who participated in this event. During the fall months we should have some outings for "Bird Watchers and Leaf Peepers". These events will be announced here as well as on the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy site.. www.fmcpconservancy.org
PLAY…RELAX…ENJOY FLUSHING MEADOWS-CORONA PARK
© 2008 FMCPConservancy.org
