HealthCorps® Announces Highway to Health Festival 2011 With Dr. Oz...

HealthCorps® Announces Highway to Health Festival 2011 With Dr. Oz

Featuring Talent Competition, 5K Fun Run and Teen Battle Chef Competition

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center - May 14 

HealthCorps®, www.healthcorps.org, a proactive health movement with a presence in 17 New York City schools, announces Highway to Health Festival presented by Fairway Market, a free community festival for all ages with an appearance from Dr. Mehmet Oz, heart surgeon and host of the Emmy Award-winning nationally syndicated talk show, “The Dr. Oz Show.” Dr. Oz and his wife Lisa co-founded HealthCorps.

The Highway to Health Festival is being organized in partnership with the United Stated Tennis Association (USTA). Fairway Market represents the Platinum Sponsor.

Among the Festival’s healthy lifestyle family activities are a 5K Fun Run/Walk, Ten and Under Tennis, free health screenings, healthy food and beverage samples, fitness workshops and unicycle rides. Hosted by MC Todd Robbins, the Music for a Better America Talent Competition will offer youth and adult divisions (over 18.) The event also features a Healthy Food Mall hosted by Miss Saturn, including cooking demonstrations, hands-on gardening and other activities.

WHERE: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadow – Corona Park in Flushing, Queens 11368. Festival takes place on South Plaza. Use main public entrance to Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

WHEN: Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. At noon, Dr. Oz will lead a press conference from the main stage to highlight HealthCorps’ work in fighting the child obesity crisis. MEDIA PHOTO AND VIDEO OPPORTUNITIES.

• 11 a.m. - 5K Fun Run/Walk begins in Corona Park near the Unisphere and features
• Alfredo “Frado” Dinten from “The Biggest Loser”
• 12 p.m. – Dr. Oz leads press conference on Main Stage with celebrities. Run winners announced
• 12:30 p.m. Music for a Better America Talent Competition – Youth Division
• 1 p.m. - Teen Battle Chef cooking competition with HealthCorps students
• 2: 30 p.m. Music for a Better America Talent Competition – Adult Division
• 2:30 p.m. Teen Battle Chef winners will be announced

WHO: At the press conference, Dr. Oz will be joined by public officials; Daniel Zausner, Managing Director, USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center; Alfredo “Frado” Dinten from “The Biggest Loser” and other HealthCorps Ambassadors.

Partners supporting the event include the New York City Council, the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, the United Stated Tennis Association, Emblem Health, Family Cook Productions, Susan G Komen Foundation, Vemma Nutrition Company, the California Walnut Board, Sahaja Meditation, Pirate's Booty and Zumba.

For more details on Highway to Health Festival & Youth Forum, please visit www.highwaytohealthfestival.com, call 212-742-2875 or email highwaytohealth@healthcorps.org.

Comptroller John Liu Audit Shows Ex-Operator of Forest Park Carousel has Shoddy Bookkeeping, Poor Maintenance by Lisa L. Colangelo - New York Daily News

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As city officials embark on another search for someone to run the shuttered Forest Park Carousel, a new audit shows how the former operator almost ran the historic amusement into the ground.


City Controller John Liu said the concessionaire, New York One LLC, failed to make about $500,000 in capital upgrades to three city-owned carousels.


That includes more than $50,000 for Forest Park, $110,000 for the carousel at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and more than $400,000 for the Central Park Carousel.


The audit also said the snack bars, pushcarts and surrounding areas were not maintained 'in a safe and sanitary manner.'


Supporters of the Forest Park Carousel, closed since 2008, had long complained about poor maintenance there. The company let its contract expire in 2009.

NYC's Fake Grass Gamble: A $300M Mistake? by Patrick Arden - City Limits Magazine - CityLimits.org

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In 1998, New York City began installing synthetic turf fields in parks and playgrounds, saying the artificial material would be more durable than grass. But a City Limits investigation finds that many turf fields are falling apart, including this one at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Soccer players examine the turf at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. 

Soccer players shout at midfield, but not about their game: The field is falling apart.

“It’s been like this for five years,” complains Israel Arreola, as he points to the open seams, torn patches and wavy folds in the artificial turf at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Referees for public school league games already boycott two artificial-turf fields there, citing fears of liability. “This is bad: holes everywhere,” says Arreola, a Manhattan sous-chef who plays in a weekend league.

The reasons behind this buying binge have been many, ranging from the battle against obesity to an alleged cost savings on field maintenance. Artificial turf is part of PlaNYC, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's blueprint for an environmentally friendly future. Yet a City Limits investigation has found that overuse and chronic neglect has run turf ragged years ahead of schedule; price comparisons generally favor natural grass, even in the long term; and the health risks of turf—largely dismissed by the city after the destruction of one artificial field for high lead levels in late 2008—are much broader and deeper than previously reported.“Somebody’s going to get hurt.” Over the past 12 years New York City has borrowed an estimated $300 million to put 204 artificial-turf fields at parks, schools and playgrounds. An additional 52 fields are on the drawing board.

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Flushing Meadows-Corona Park No Longer has its Own Police Patrol Due to Staffing Problems: Sources - Lisa Colangelo - NY Daily News

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NYPD pulls its dedicated patrol out of popular Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a move prompted by staffing problems, sources say.

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a popular and busy spot for people looking for relief from steamy summer streets, will no longer have its own police patrol, Queens News has learned.

Instead, cops patrolling other parts of the 110th Precinct and borough task force units will keep an eye on activity in the sprawling 1,255-acre park.

The dedicated detail was pulled due to staffing woes at the 110th Precinct, sources said.

City police officials downplayed the impact of the change, saying the park will still have a strong law enforcement presence.

"The park is being patrolled by task force officers along with the Conditions Unit of the 110th Precinct and the Citi Field detail," the NYPD said in a statement.

The Conditions Unit monitors quality-of-life issues.

But civic leaders and elected officials are not convinced and said this is another example of Queens residents being shortchanged.

"While we recognize that police resources are limited, there is no question that the best deterrent to crime in the park is a uniformed officer on patrol," said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.

"This is a cause for concern," said Patricia Dolan, head of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy. "There are huge numbers of people there every week. Are they walking away from Riverside Park, Central Park or Prospect Park? Of course not."

Police sources said there may be fewer patrol cars going through at night when the park is closed.

"They still have cars on patrol during the day," a source said. "The parks are covered."

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., who heads the Public Safety Committee, said this shows the city needs more police officers in all of its precincts.

"We all hear about high-profile crimes in parks, but this is a quality-of-life situation," said Vallone (D-Astoria). "There are all sorts of things that have to be addressed in parks, such as loud radios and illegal barbecues."

Marshall and others said the problem is exacerbated by the low numbers of Parks Enforcement Patrol, or PEP, officers available in Queens.

Joe Puleo, vice president DC 37 Local 983, which represents PEP officers, said only a handful are available to work the 7,000 acres of parks across the borough.

Most of the PEP officers have been assigned to the city's packed pools and beaches.

Puleo also said Flushing Meadows-Corona Park's complicated geography - bisected and encircled by highways - further makes the case for a dedicated law enforcement presence.

"This is a big park," he said. "We're also dealing with injured people and lost children."

Parks Department officials said they had not been told of any change in NYPD coverage at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

A Tour de Queens on Two Wheels by Holly Tsang - Queens Examiner

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When you live in a busy city like New York, it's not easy to be an urban cyclist. Even though bikers technically have the right of way, cyclists are often at the mercy of aggressive drivers.

This past Sunday, however, 1,500 bike riders took the roads back as, escorted by police officers, they stopped vehicular traffic and breezed through red lights.

Sponsored by Transportation Alternatives, the third annual Tour de Queens commenced at the Queens Museum of Art. It attracted riders from all over the city and took them through 18 miles of residential and commercial neighborhoods including Flushing, Bayside, Oakland Gardens, Little Neck, Queens Village and Fresh Meadows. The midway point was marked by a rest stop at the Queens County Farm Museum.

"The Tour de Queens is all about celebrating the strides we're making towards a more bike-friendly borough," says David Dubovsky, chair of Transportation Alternatives' Queens Committee. "Where else in New York City can you bike from a two-time World's Fair ground to a working urban farm - all in one morning?"

Richard Lau, a small business owner from Flushing, signed up for the tour to spend some quality time with his cousins. He enjoyed going down roads that the police had blocked off for riders, but the ride was an eye-opener as well.

“You really get to experience your neighborhood,” he said. “I didn't realize until I started biking how many hills there are, or how many ways there are to get to your house.”

Chris Kay, a nurse from the Bronx, recently joined a bicycling group that rides from the Bronx to Battery Park. He enjoys participating in bike tours because they allow him to see all the aspects of a neighborhood or borough he would otherwise miss.

“I often drive through Queens, but you don't get to stop and see the neighborhoods when you're driving on a highway,” he said. “Now you get to see it up close. I've never been this close to the Unisphere.”

Jim Henderson, a retired telephone switchman from Manhattan, grew up on Long Island, but as an avid cyclist who rides everywhere, he probably knows the city better than most born-and-bred city dwellers.

“I'm just amazed that people don't know their area and geography,” he said. “You get a wonderful opportunity to see what people are doing, how the city's laid out, the economy...there are rich people places, poor people places, commercial places. You can learn all these things simply by biking.”

Though he could easily ride on his own, Henderson enjoys the bike tours because they allow him to fly down the street without worry of being killed by drivers. It also means that he has to be careful around the less experienced riders, who are much slower; a handful of children completed the ride from start to finish. However, he encourages everyone to take up bike riding, which is an efficient form of travel as well as a fun hobby.

“The best way to start is to go down your street and keep going,” he said. “Keep going and don't stop.”

Elevators from World's Fair Pavilion Get the Shaft as City Lets Them Rot Away in Flushingby Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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The New York State Pavilion has been suffering from the ravages of time and weather over the past few decades. Noonan for News

Futuristic elevators from a World's Fair landmark now lie shattered in a weed-strewn pile in Queens - two years after the city promised to protect the historic lifts, the Daily News has learned.

The SkyStreak pods from the New York State Pavilion are rotting in a jumble of twisted parts - a far cry from the 1964-1965 expo, when they soared to the highest point of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

"It looks like a trash can," said Richard Post, who leads World's Fair tours of the park. "They're ravaged. They're garbage."

After the fair ended in 1965, the steel-and-glass capsules were left at the mercy of decay and vandals - as one rusted away in a pit beneath the pavilion, and the other was stuck mid-rise at 150 feet.

The city Parks Department stripped the pods off their cables in July 2008, fearing parts might blow off in strong winds. At the time, both were largely intact.

The agency's historic preservation director, John Krawchuk, said then that the city was retaining the elevators so they "could easily be replicated" in the future.

He said the SkyStreaks would be crucial if the city ever decided to restore the decaying pavilion.

"The goal is to remove it whole, not to damage it in any way," Krawchuk told The News at the time, calling the elevators "very important features to the original design" of the site.

But park advocate Greg Godfrey noticed on Sunday that the chain-link gate around the fallen elevators was open - and then saw the damage to the lifts.
He immediately alerted a Parks enforcement patrol officer. When The News checked the site on Monday, the gate remained unlocked - with only a loosely tied string to keep it closed.

"It looks like all the structural integrity was destroyed," said Godfrey, president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World's Fair Association.
The News confirmed the capsules' poor state. But Parks Department spokeswoman Trish Bertuccio insisted Tuesday that "no changes have been made to the condition" of the elevators.

Historians contended the city's neglect of the SkyStreaks matched a decades-long pattern at the pavilion.

"It's really sad and makes me very angry, but how can you be surprised given their attitude toward that building?" asked Bill Young, who has co-written two World's Fair books.

"They have consistently failed to come through," he said.

Queens Borough President Marshall Swears in 59 New Community Board Members at Hall of Science...

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Queens Borough President Helen Marshall swore in 56 new community board members, Wednesday, June 9th at the Hall of Science in a ceremony that also honored longtime board members.

Some 266 members were also be reappointed to the borough’s 14 boards.

“I welcome our new board members and thank our veteran members for their longstanding service to their communities,” Marshall said. “We owe all our boards a great deal of gratitude for the time and energy they devote to their neighborhoods’ well-being and future.”

Marshall, herself a former member of Community Board 3 for more than a decade, helped to lead the fight to restore the City’s funding for community boards in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1st.

Under the current City Charter, each of the boards can have up to 50 members who serve staggered terms of two years – beginning April 1st. Members serve without compensation.

Marshall said that anyone who is interested in joining their community board must be a New York City resident who lives in or has a business, professional or other significant interest within the confines of their respective board.

The Borough President appoints all community board members with at least one-half of them selected from nominees of the district’s City Council members.

The new Community Board members are:

CB #1: Evie Hantzopoulos, Vincent G. Marsanico, Marie Torniali

CB #2: Sandra Bigitschke, David DeCicco, Donald J. Dodelson,Brian Flynn, Kenneth Greenberg, Luis Jimenez, Norberto Saldaña,Guadalupe Marzana, Lauren J. Springer, Karolina Tosi

CB #3: Nathaniel Allen, Kilder Fuentes, Raúl Garcia,Edward Kiernan, Brunilda Leon, William Meehan, Dorothy A. Phelan, Daria E. Bermudez, Jose Rodriguez, Lynda C. McDougald

CB #4: George Onuorah, Veronica R. Piedra, Ruth E. Huerta

CB #5: Rosemarie Johnson, Jopshio Lorenzo

CB #6: Aron B. Borukhov, Bernice H. Katz

CB #7: Anthony Carollo, Timothy Chuang, Pauline Chu, Joseph E. Femenia, Valerie Kennedy, Barbara M. McHugh, Peter Sutich, Paul A. Vallone

CB #8: Stephen Geitheim, Michael Hannibal, Samuel Rodriguez

CB #9: Alexander J. Blenkinsopp, Albert Cohen, Melquiades Gagarin, Melissa Rosales

CB #10: John Cavanaugh, Irene B. Dimoh, Phillip Lynch, Diane Marinconz, Douglas McPherson

CB# 11: Steven Anthony Behar, Thomas Meara, Kimon C. Thermos

CB# 12: Samuel E. Elliott, Ashor Satkalmi, George Woolsey

CB #14: John Danko, Daniel Russillo, Jr., Milan Taylor

Longtime honorees included:

45 Years of Service:

• Community Board 13: Susan Noreika

40 Years of Service:

• Community Board 4: Miriam Levenson

• Community Board 10: John Marus

35 Years of Service:

• Community Board 7: Arthur Barragan

30 Years of Service:

• Community Board 11: Joan Garippa

• Community Board 13: Seymour Finkelstein

• Community Board 13: Lloyd Hicks

25 Years of Service:

• Community Board 1: Dennis Syntilas

• Community Board 2: Joseph Conley

• Community Board 4: Clara Salas

• Community Board 6: Steven Gary Goldberg

• Community Board 7: Joseph Sweeney

• Community Board 9: Joan DeCamp

• Community Board 9: Maria Thomson

20 Years of Service:

• Community Board 1: Mary O’Hara

• Community Board 1: Thomas Ryan

• Community Board 3: Vasantrai Gandhi

• Community Board 3: Rafael Moreno

• Community Board 3: Jimmy Smith

• Community Board 4: Lucy Schilero

• Community Board 4: Louis Walker

• Community Board 5: Robert Cermeli

• Community Board 6: Michael Mulvaney

• Community Board 7: Robert LoPinto

• Community Board 7: Carlos Talisaysay

• Community Board 7: Joel Thaler

• Community Board 8 Carolyn Brown

• Community Board 8: Maria Delnocentiis

• Community Board 8: Norma Stegmaier

• Community Board 10: Joel Miele, Jr

• Community Board 10: Rosemarie Ferrara

• Community Board 10: Joy Mariann Patron

• Community Board 11: Mamie Smith

• Community Board 12: Marguerite Barrett

• Community Board 12: Jacqueline Boyce

• Community Board 12: Cheryl Wilson Greaves

• Community Board 12: Carol Hunt

• Community Board 12: Benjamin Wright, Jr.

• Community Board 13: Jonathan Raines

• Community Board 12: Helene Zaro

• Community Board 14: Steve Cromity

• Community Board 14: Dolores Orr

• Community Board 14:Elancio Williams

Twelve board members will receive recognition for 15 years of service and 29 for ten years of service.

Tour Galore for 1,000-Plus Bicyclists by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

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WHEN ONLINE registration opened for 1,000 free slots in this year's Tour de Queens bike ride, cyclists gobbled them all up in less than 12 hours.

The registration rush for the second annual event, to be held Sunday, blew away the numbers for last year's inaugural spin, in which 600 cyclists rode and 500 people booked slots online.

"It's the hottest ticket in town," said Wiley Norvell of the tour's promoter, Transportation Alternatives. The nonprofit group encourages cycling, walking and mass transit as a more healthy and environmentally friendly way to get around the city.

An additional 500 spots will be available for walk-ins on the morning of the tour, which will start and end at the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The event is intended to help accelerate the growth of the borough's biking community, so the jump in demand was welcome news for organizers.

"That's a great sign," said Eddie Hernandez, 35, a graduate student from Astoria, who chairs the Queens committee for Transportation Alternatives.

He noted the increase validates other stats that show bicycling is on the rise in Queens.

Between 2000 and 2007, the number of bicyclists crossing the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan each day more than doubled, from 546 to 1,292, city figures show.

The tour will begin at 9:30 a.m., with same-day registration starting at 8 a.m.

The inaugural ride focused on western Queens. This year's 19-mile course will explore eastern Queens.

The ride will pass through Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Jamaica, St. Albans, Hollis and Fresh Meadows before turning back for the park. A pit stop will be provided at York College in Jamaica.

Riders on the tour - who will be given green T-shirts - will also cruise down Queens Blvd., the eastbound service lanes of which will be temporarily closed to traffic between 108th St. and Hillside Ave.

Cycling advocates have argued that installing a protected bike lane on Queens Blvd. - a treacherous but convenient east-west thoroughfare - is key to increasing bicycling in Queens.

Having a green wave of cyclists pedaling down Queens Blvd. - the so-called Boulevard of Death - is intended to make a symbolic statement, organizers said.

"It highlights a change that we think needs to take place on Queens' most iconic street - greening it, making it safer to bike and walk on - and bringing it into the 21st century," Norvell said.

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy Installs 'Blind' in Hopes of Getting Birdwatchers to Flock by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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Boy Scouts help plant native species of shrubs and other plants in front of an observation blind. Ward for News

Birdwatchers never know what they are going to see in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

Several months ago, a rare pink-footed goose took up residence around Meadow Lake.

“It was a huge deal,” said Jeanne Loscalzo, a member of the Queens County Bird Club. “People came from all over the East Coast to see him.”

The Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Conservancy, in an effort to attract more birdwatchers, has installed a wooden “bird blind” along the shore of Meadow Lake.

The structure, funded by grants, has slots so people can watch the ducks, geese and other waterfowl around the lake without being too obtrusive.

“Birds are sensitive to human disturbance,” said Glenn Phillips, executive director of New York City Audubon. “Having a blind means you get to see more birds and more interesting behaviors, because they will act as if no one is there.”

Along with the usual gaggles of geese and rafts of ducks, birdwatchers have also spotted red-winged blackbirds, swamp sparrows, a host of warblers, swans and egrets around the park and its two lakes.

Throughout the year, the exotic hooded merganser and colorful ruddy duck also make appearances.

Loscalzo said too many New Yorkers are unaware that more than 270 species of birds travel through the city during the year. Along with the pigeons and sparrows are woodpeckers, cardinals and owls, as well as red-tailed hawks.

Birders scour the woods and marshes of Queens for prime viewing spots.

Birder Eric Miller first spotted the pink-footed goose in Kissena Park before it took up residence by Meadow Lake, Loscalzo said. “It really is a unique environment worth protecting and enjoying,” she said.

On a recent Saturday, a group of Boy Scouts from Troop 196 in Forest Hills checked out the bird blind as they cleaned up the area.

Patricia Dolan, president of the Flushing Meadow Park Conservancy, shows how bird watchers will use the new observation blind. Ward for News

Patricia Dolan, of the conservancy, said the group hopes to build a similar blind at adjacent Willow Lake, a natural area that also attracts birdwatchers.

Phillips, of New York City Audubon, said he is heartened by the interest.

“If we don’t care about birds here in New York City, there aren’t going to be birds anymore,” he said.

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

City Guide Highlights Bike Routes Thru Nabes by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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IT JUST got a little easier to bike, sightsee and eat your way through Queens.

The city published a biking map last week dubbed "Queens Around the World," with several routes that allow cyclists to soak in notable sites and local cuisine.

City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden called it an ultimate insider's guide.

"The rich diversity of our neighborhoods make the city different from other cities in the world," Burden said. "This gives people destinations and shows them how to get there."

Funded by federal grant dollars, the map is part of a larger campaign to get more New Yorkers to use bicycles as a means of transportation. Burden said plans for a Bronx map are in the works and hopes to create similar ones for the other boroughs.

The Queens map includes four routes with highlights from nine different neighborhoods in the borough.

"Our staff went out on bikes and documented everything they thought was interesting and pared it down," she said. "So when you bike through Astoria you can also stop and get some of the best grilled fish and baklava."

One 6-mile route takes bikers though Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and some of the surrounding neighborhoods.

A shorter 2-mile jaunt weaves through Long Island City and Hunter's Point.

Another 7-mile route includes Corona, Jackson Heights, Woodside and Sunnyside.

Along the way are stops at the Public School 1 MoMA Contemporary Art Center, Astoria Park and even the Lemon Ice King of Corona.

The map lists more than 50 destinations with photos and a list of nearby bicycle shops.

The map can also be used as a walking guide, Burden said. And in certain areas, such as the bustling "Little India" section of Jackson Heights under the 7 train, cyclists should probably take a break and walk their bike for a few blocks.

Advocates, who are lobbying the city to increase the number of bike lanes, said they were happy to see the city create a borough-specific map.

"Whether it's free bike parking provided at movies in Socrates Sculpture Park, or the Queens Museum of Art's penchant for all things bike, I think bicycling is becoming a big part of the borough's landscape," said Wiley Norvell of Transportation Alternatives.

"What better way to show that transformation than linking places best seen by bike and the streets that are increasingly safe to ride on?" he added.

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

First Bird Blind Opens in Flushing Meadows by Liz Rhodes - Queens Chronicle

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Flushing Meadows Park opened its first bird blind Saturday near Meadow Lake.

Photo (left) - A bird blind overlooking Meadow Lake near Jurassic Playground is now available for use by the public at Flushing Meadows Park. (photo courtesy Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy)

The wooden structure, approximately 10 feet wide and 8 feet high, is a facility for watching birds while hidden from their view. It is located in a large phragmites (reeds) grove south of the Jurassic Playground.

The blind — with slits to watch birds —is accessible from Jewel Avenue, off the Grand Central Parkway westbound entrance. It was funded by the New York City Environmental Fund.

According to Pat Dolan, president of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Conservancy, which sponsored the blind, it was inspired by similar ones at Gateway National Park and Alley Pond Park. It was designed by Ed Fischer, a Kew Gardens Hills resident, who is designing a second one funded by state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans).

The second blind is expected to be erected near Willow Lake in the park later this year. The conservancy has worked with the Urban Park Rangers to provide monthly tours of the Willow Lake natural area, a protected wildlife area that is not generally open to the public.

Future conservancy projects include shoreline restoration at Meadow Lake and a three-year reforestation program.

The conservancy was organized almost seven years ago to promote the restoration, maintenance and safety of the park. Its goals are to preserve the natural, historical, cultural and recreational legacy for the public.

Saving Boro's 7 Wonders: Landmark Effort to Preserve News' 'History in Peril' Sites by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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A Flushing museum is unveiling an exhibit and launching a series of tours and lectures on Sunday to push the city to landmark significant Queens sites profiled last year in the Daily News' History in Peril series.

The display at the Queens Historical Society at 143-35 37th Ave. will serve as the starting point for a 1 p.m. bus ride past seven structures from the series, followed by a cautionary tale about two lost icons from the 1939 World's Fair.

None of the seven structures - such as the former homes of writer Jack Kerouac, baseball icon Jackie Robinson and Malcolm X - have been designated landmarks, leaving them at risk of major alterations or even demolition.

"It's bringing to light a lot of places that have either been forgotten or people didn't know existed," said Danielle Hilkin, the society's outreach coordinator.

Lisi de Bourbon, a spokeswoman for the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, promised to alert the panel's 11 members about the exhibit, tours and lectures.

The exhibit, which will run through September. will be accompanied by three tours, held the last Sundays of April, May and June.

The post-tour talk on May 31 will focus on Kerouac, who lived in Ozone Park in the 1940s, while the June 28 edition will highlight Woodhaven Lanes, a shuttered bowling alley in Glendale.

The exhibit features rare memorabilia like a bookshelf from a library where Kerouac planned his "On the Road" trip.

Also on display will be mementos from the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs, both held in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

The 1939 collection includes pins depicting the iconic 610-foot-tall Trylon and 180-foot-wide Perisphere - which were demolished after the fair closed and will be the focus of Sunday's lecture by historian Pierre Montiel.

"People should realize Queens has a history," Montiel said. "If you keep tearing it all down, you won't really have a history."

The most prominent remaining structure from the 1939 fair is the New York City Building - also not landmarked - an early headquarters for the United Nations.

Other tour sites include the Ridgewood Theatre, which opened in 1916 and was the nation's longest continuously operating movie house until it closed in March 2008.

To RSVP for the tours, call the Queens Historical Society at (718) 939-0647, extension 17.

Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows Park...

The following photos were taken during a Parks Department sponsored bird walk on March 8th with clear signs of recent fire damage and MTA intrusions into the Park.

Photos by Manny

Parks Plans Broad Changes at Flushing Meadows by Jeremy Walsh - YourNabe.com

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Photo Credit: http://www.rockpaperscissors.biz/rps-media/Unisphere.jpg

The changes coming to Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the next decade will be sweeping and may include tearing down the rusting observation towers at the New York State Pavilion, Borough President Helen Marshall’s office said.

The city Parks Department recently completed its strategic framework plan for the park, projecting what may be in store 10 years from now.

But the plan was ambivalent about the aging elements of the 1964 World’s Fair. “The Unisphere, the Queens Museum and Theater in the Park and the New York State Pavilion, will be retained and restored to define the Park’s importance as a cultural destination,” the report says at one point.

Yet farther down, the urban architects seemed skeptical about the investment.

“We agree with the World Monuments Fund report that the NYS pavilion be stabilized and restored,” they wrote. “However, none of this work makes sense without a clear idea about its role in the future conceptual framework of the Park.”



“A report assessing the condition of the Pavilion is due in the next few months, but Dan Andrews, Marshall’s spokesman, said she is leaning toward taking the rusting observation towers down “in the wake of the current economic climate and the lack of funding that would be somewhat prohibitive to restore them in any way.”

The plan identifies three major strategies to pursue over the long term: renovating the core area of the park where the World’s Fairs took place; reconfiguring and restoring the park’s two lakes; and reconnecting the park to the surrounding neighborhoods.

The World’s Fair Core proposal would create a greener landscape with more varied topography, less paved surface and a new public gathering space at the spot where the “now dysfunctional Fountain of the Planets” sits. The proposal also calls for the Flushing River to be reopened to create a continuous ribbon of water through the park.

Marshall supports the plan, Andrews said. “She thinks it’s progress,” he said.

But one preservationist group is upset with the direction the plan proposes.

“They’re going to rip out the central fountain axis between the fountain and the Queens Museum,” said Greg Godfrey, president of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park World’s Fair Association. “If they get rid of that, they destroy the World’s Fair core.”

Godfrey also criticized the plan’s suggestion of creating more reinforced grassy areas to serve as overflow parking.

“It’s a joke,” he said. “They can’t even maintain the fields they have now with real grass.”

It may be some time before the park sees any of the major renovations discussed in the plan, however. Rebuilding the World’s Fair Core and dredging the lakes would cost roughly $60 million, the consultants found.

Andrews said the Parks Department suggested moving ahead with the more minor improvements the plan envisions.

“If we start with the smaller items, we can move as the situation of the economy improves with the much bigger ticket items,” he said.

The report does note that more studies are needed to analyze the park’s drainage system, signs and access points, which would cost roughly $2 million. The architects found that the park’s drainage was inadequate and exacerbated by large swaths of asphalt and other hard surfaces left over from the World’s Fairs. They also found that the access points and signs were confusing.

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall: Raze World's Fair Rotunda by Nichola Hirshon - NY Daily News

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Mr. Parks Commissioner, tear down that icon!

Photo (left) The New York State Pavilion, built by architect Philip Johnson for the 1964-1965 World's Fair, now sits in a state of disrepair, and Borough President Helen Marshall thinks it should be torn down. Hagen for News/Freelance NYDN

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall urged destruction of the New York State Pavilion during an interview this week with the Daily News, pre-empting a city study on whether the structure can be saved.

"It should be demolished," Marshall said of the pavilion, designed by famed architect Philip Johnson. "We have great artists. He's not the only artist in the world."

Though the 1964 World's Fair exhibit has decayed much over the decades, the unique rotunda with three towers remains integral to the city's proposed transformation of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

But Marshall rejected that blueprint on Tuesday after attending a Borough Hall meeting where Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said a study on the pavilion's stability was "imminent."

But Marshall said she believes the structure isn't safe.

"And to fix it and repair it would cost an arm and a leg," she said. "People have all kinds of ideas [to save the pavilion], but to make it work is another story."

Benepe said during the meeting that he was open to pitches to turn the pavilion into a welcome center or museum - and marveled at positive feedback he has gotten from Queens leaders.

"It's rare we've had a plan meet with this level of satisfaction so early in the planning process," Benepe said.

Informed later of Marshall's comments, Benepe said an effort to preserve the pavilion could succeed without her support.

"If there's a practical way to save the Tent of Tomorrow [rotunda] and the whole pavilion, we'll do that," he said.

He also said the city would "take serious steps" if the study finds the pavilion unsafe.

Greg Godfrey, president of a park watchdog group that has advocated for landmarking the pavilion, criticized Marshall for taking such an early stance against preservation.

"That's dangerous, that she has that predetermined opinion," he said.

But Bruce Bendell - chairman of Unisphere Inc., a nonprofit that raises funds for the park - said he would like to see the pavilion torn down to make way for a youth center.

"Why not have a new structure that's a replica of what was there before?" Bendell asked.

Grand Fix for One of Oldest 1939 World's Fair Relic by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

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The boathouse at Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, one of two remaining buildings from the 1939 World's Fair, is set to receive $6.5 million in renovations. Bates for News

When people think of relics from the World's Fairs of 1939 and 1964, the iconic Unisphere and picturesque New York State Pavilion usually come to mind.

Few, if any, would think of the brick boathouse on Meadow Lake, though it is one of only two surviving structures from the 1939 fair.

The boathouse still shelters vessels that ply the murky lake, but it is otherwise nearly forgotten. Years of abandonment and neglect have tarnished any traces of World's Fair grandeur.

After years of planning, the city Parks Department expects to begin a $6.5 million restoration of the historic boathouse early next year.

Giving the dilapidated structure a much-needed makeover will allow the boathouse to anchor a revitalization of the southern portion of the sprawling Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, said Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski.

"This will allow the boathouse to go toward better use," she said, noting the project will give the building a new roof and windows and restore its facade. "This is the beginning of some restoration of the whole area around Meadow Lake."

Greg Godfrey, president of the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park World's Fair Association, applauded the effort.

"It is a welcome sign that they are going to spend the money to fix it up and use it as a showcase," he said. "In today's condition, it is pretty bad."

The restoration has received funding from Borough President Helen Marshall and City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows).

It will add bathrooms to the boathouse, sparing visitors from having to use portable toilets.

The boathouse is shared by three boating groups - The American Small Craft Association, Row New York and the outfit that runs the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.

Lewandowski said the project will also completely rebuild and extend the boathouse's deteriorating docks and make the facility handicapped accessible.

TASCA, a local sailing club and school, rescued the boathouse from abandonment several years ago, turning it into a no-frills base for its small fleet of 14-foot sailboats.

"It was full of squirrels," recalled Richard Hellenbrecht, 61, of Bellerose, a sailing instructor for the group. He said the club uses a wood-burning stove to heat the boathouse in winter months.

In addition to the boathouse restoration, Lewandowski said, an upcoming project will restore habitat along Meadow Lake and its sister lake to the south, Willow Lake, both of which were created for the 1939 Worlds' Fair.

Another project will provide new entryways for the southern portion of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.

jlauinger@nydailynews.com

Are Web Pics of Damage to Restored New York State Pavilion Map Real? by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

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What a makeover mess for the New York State Pavilion.

Photos posted online claim to prove that tiles from a huge state road map created for the 1964 World's Fair icon were cracked and left lying in dust and weeds after undergoing a heralded $40,000 restoration.

[Photo caption: Parks Dept. preservation director John Krawchuk points out missing and damaged tiles (below) in January from map created for NYS Pavilion at 1964 World's Fair. Hagen for News]

A spokeswoman for the city Parks Department, which cares for the pavilion, said she didn't know if restored tiles had gone back into the pavilion at some point. But she said the tiles were put into special-made crates under supervision of a historic preservation specialist and are now safe in an enclosed storage space.

Early this year, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania pulled out 13 tiles - mostly from the Long Island part of the map - and restored several with a $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Queens Museum of Art then put a collection of tiles - some restored, some not - on display for an exhibit that began in January and ended in May.

A few weeks later, photos were posted on a World's Fair fan Web site that showed some tiles with the Long Island forks visibly cracked and back inside the aging pavilion. It's unclear when the photos were taken.

Convinced the pictures were shot after the exhibit ended, visitors to the Web site posted angry messages blasting the city. "If this is what they do with $40,000, what would they do with the millions it'll take to fix the pavilion?" asked Christian Kellberg, 56, who attended the 1964 fair. But Parks Department spokeswoman Patricia Bertuccio denied the city would neglect the tiles after working toward restoration.

Conservator John Hinchman, a University of Pennsylvania professor who managed the map project, said he wasn't sure if the tiles in the photos matched the ones he helped preserve. Tom Finkelpearl, executive director of the Queens Museum of Art, said he hadn't seen the photos and didn't know whether to trust them. But he figured the tiles wouldn't have suffered damage from being back in the pavilion.

"What destroyed the tiles was not the weather," Finkelpearl said. "It was the plants that were growing into them and cracking them apart."

To view photos posted by the fan go to:

www.worldsfaircommunity.org/index.php?showtopic=8024&st=0

or

www.worldsfaircommunity.org/index.php?showtopic=8121&hl

The Secret Gardeners of Queens by Lisa J. Colangelo - NY Daily News

Click on photo to enlarge

July 17th - Work begins on a Parks Dept capital project at the Forest Park Greenhouses on Woodhaven Boulevard, this is the first overhaul of the greenhouses since they were built in the 1920's (Photo by Manny)

CAPITAL PROJECT DETAIL

PROJECT ID: P CN135

BUDGET LINE : P D019

BORO: Queens

PROJECT TITLE: Forest Park Greenhouse

FY 2009: $200,000

SPONSOR: Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. and the Queens Delegation

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A splash of purple ageratums and orange geraniums surround crotons, Chinese fan palms and birds of paradise plants in a lush, colorful display that greets visitors to The Overlook at Forest Park.

Parkgoers may be surprised to find out all this exotic flora was grown just 2 miles away at Forest Park's own historic greenhouse.

The greenhouse, a complex of seven buildings off Woodhaven Blvd., grows more than 200,000 annuals, perennials and assorted groundcover plants every year. About 50,000 of those flowers and plants are used in Brooklyn parks while the rest are used in Queens parks and other projects around the city.

Director of Horticulture Frank Colella highlights the aging structure of the Forest Park greenhouse. First built in the 1920s, the greenhouse will soon have its first major overhaul.

"We plant what we grow and maintain what we plant," said Horticulture Director Frank Colella.

This summer, the greenhouse will get its first major overhaul since the facility was built almost 100 years ago. Several of the buildings were designed by greenhouse experts Lord and Burnham.

The renovations will allow gardeners to better control the environment inside the buildings, allowing them to grow more flowers and plants. A classroom space will be added for educational programs.

"The Forest Park Greenhouse represents more than a century of botanical knowledge and education, right in the heart of Queens," said Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

Colella and his staff design displays ranging from the grand flowerbeds at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park during the U.S. Open to 800 "greenstreets" around the borough.

Geraniums grow in the Forest Park Greenhouse in Queens. In July the Greenhouse will be undergoing its first major renovation since the facility was built in the 1920s.

But even the smallest gardens - those surrounding the signs that direct visitors to parks and other sites - get special attention from Colella and his staff. "I really like the greeting gardens," Colella said. "They make people feel welcome."

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com

StreetFilms » Tour de Queens 2008 Video

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I registered to attend this event but due to mechanical difficulties with my seldom used bicycle that occurred last Friday I was unable to make it but I am already looking forward to next years event...Back in my younger (and thinner) days I was an avid bicyclist, though it might be hard to tell now...I think it's important that our great city have more bicycle lanes, especially in light of rising gas prices and it's impact on middle class New Yorkers...

Not even the heat and humidity of a sizzling 96 degree day could keep nearly 500 people from pedaling the inaugural Tour de Queens. The beautiful, family-friendly course - which hugged much of the northwest perimeter of the borough - was put together by the Queens Transportation Alternatives Committee and featured “lots of smiles per hour.” Highlights included: a very bike-friendly Queens Museum of Art (which also showed some Streetfilms) and a briefly ironic moment where it looked like riders were queuing up for $4.25 per gallon gas!

Tour De Queens Bicycles Through Borough On Sunday by Liz Rhodes - Queens Chronicle

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Some members of the Queens TA Committee (Photo courtesy of Queens TA Committee Google Group)

The first Tour de Queens, a free bicycle ride through parts of the borough, will be held on Sunday.

About 700 riders are expected to participate in the event sponsored by Transportation Alternatives. The group sponsors similar events in the Bronx and Brooklyn and now has decided to add Queens.

“This will definitely be an annual event. It’s a great way to see the borough and a way to encourage people to ride a bike,” said Wiley Norvell, spokesman for Transportation Alternatives.

He hopes that in the future different areas of Queens will be highlighted during the yearly ride.

Although the online registration is completed, Norvell indicated that there would be plenty of spaces available for those who sign in on Sunday at 8 a.m. Starting and finishing point is the Queens Museum of Art in Flushing Meadows Park.

The 20-mile ride is expected to take three hours or more to complete and will go through East Elmhurst, Astoria, Queensbridge, Long Island City, Maspeth, Middle Village, Rego Park and Forest Hills.

“This is a leisurely ride with few hills,” Norvell said. “And we hope a lot of families will participate.”

Children 14 and under may ride as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Youngsters must also wear helmets.

A rest stop with snacks and refreshments will be provided in Queensbridge Park, overlooking the East River.

Mike Heffron, chairman of Transportation Alternatives’ Queens Committee, noted that the group is using bike-friendly streets. Motorists are not expected to be affected since it’s an early-morning Sunday ride and will not disrupt traffic.

Norvell added that intersections will only be closed three to four minutes at a time as groups of riders pass through.

Queens Borough President Helen Marshall is delighted the Tour de Queens is taking place. “We are always asking residents and visitors to ‘Discover Queens’ and biking is a wonderful way to do that,” she said.

Transportation Alternatives is still looking for volunteers to help on Sunday. Call (212) 629-8080.

The non-profit group was founded in 1973 to take back the city’s streets from the car and to advocate for bicycling, walking and using public transit to achieve that goal. The Queens Committee was founded in 2007.