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Queens Man Envisions Mountain Park In Astoria
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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Western Queens, a dense part of the city's second most-populated borough, doesn't have too much park space. Besides Astoria Park, it sorely lacks for green spaces where one can spend a sunny day not being cooked on top of a griddle of asphalt. So why does the city want to raze a perfectly good place to have a new park?
That's the question being asked by Joseph Anastasio, in a post for LTV Squad, a website that focuses on urban exploration. Anastasio is looking at a parcel of land in Astoria, right near the Rikers Island Channel, where, through mysterious circumstances, a manmade mountain (hill?) has stood for decades. He'd like to see a park put there. The city, on the other hand, would like to use it for a variety of projects, all of which would make the city a more efficient place. It wants to use it for construction staging when it expands runways at LaGuardia into the water, and also possibly to build a new waste management center there.
Anastasio thinks this would be a colossal waste:
It is one of the last ‘undeveloped’ parcels of land located in an area that is woefully devoid of actual park space (by actual park space - I mean one with trees and nature - there are two drab concrete playgrounds nearby). What’s more - this property is owned by New York City (and leased to the Port Authority) - making the hardest part of creating new parks - the acquisition of property - a moot point. Better still, it is already covered in beautiful trees. This land is ripe for becoming a park - so ripe that the powers that be will likely never allow it.
Anastasio's argument is essentially:
1. We have a mountain.
2. It is almost certainly made of garbage.
3. Sure would be a shame if someone despoiled this garbage pile.
Anastasio then cites the High Line as an example where a community got the city to change its mind (new law for park enthusiasts: STOP CITING THE HIGH LINE, DAMNIT, IT'S UNIQUE).
Still, a new park is something western Queens desperately needs. Having played Little League my entire childhood next to that "park," which reeks of both raw sewage and jet fuel, the location is far from ideal, but it's possibly the best worst option for the area.
As Anastasio convincingly argues,
The Port Authority can find someplace else for their staging area, if they even need it (maybe barges moored at or near the worksite?). I’m unconvinced they need to bulldoze this property, destroying trees and trucking out large qualities of rock and soil (to where?) just to create a blighted staging area and stream of dump truck traffic through local residential streets.
People of Queens unite! Save this old, beautiful pile of garbage! It is honestly the Queens-iest thing you can do.
Tagged
astoria
land use
nyc
parks
queens
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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