Queens leaders break ground on fi rst phase
of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway reconstruction
Queens community leaders break ground on phase one of the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway reconstruction project.
Photos by NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | MAY 7-MAY 13, 2021 33
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens community leaders
and NYC Parks Borough
Commissioner Michael Dockett
broke ground on the first
phase of the Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway reconstruction project
on Wednesday, April 28.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards, Councilman
Barry Grodenchik, Community
Board 13 Chair Bryan
Block, Community Board 11
District Joseph Marzilliano
and Community Board 8 District
Manager Marie Adam-
Ovide were in attendance for
the groundbreaking at Union
Turnpike and Winchester
Boulevard.
The first phase of the
project involves resurfacing
between Winchester and
Springfield boulevards. Eventually,
the entire length of the
parkway, which runs through
Alley Pond and Cunningham
Park, will be refurbished.
“The Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway hasn’t been repaved
in decades, so it is in desperate
need of an upgrade,”
Grodenchik said. “The resurfacing
will allow families,
children and seniors to safely
enjoy a range of activities on
this historic thoroughfare.”
The Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway, also known as the
Long Island Motor Parkway,
falls within City Council District
23, which is represented
by Grodenchik. The Vanderbilt
is a major recreation and
exercise venue in eastern
Queens, where local residents
enjoy walking, running, bicycling,
roller skating and
skateboarding in a car-free
zone.
The reconstruction project
is funded with $300,000 from
Mayor Bill de Blasio and $1.25
million from Grodenchik. The
first phase includes installations
of new asphalt pavement
and new steel guard rails.
Phase two of the project is
funded with $3.9 million from
de Blasio and is currently in
procurement.
Richards said the Vanderbilt
Motor Parkway reconstruction
project will give Queens
residents access to more of the
recreational space that is so
vital to their quality of life.
“The project will create
a wonderful scenic route
that will offer an enjoyable
experience to the bicyclists
and pedestrians who use it,”
Richards said.
Upon completion, the project
will be one of more than
800 completed under NYC
Parks Commissioner Mitchell
Silver’s leadership, advancing
the city’s mission to build a
more equitable 21st-century
park system.
“Under Commissioner Silver’s
leadership, we’ve worked
tirelessly to ensure that all
New Yorkers have access to
quality parks. We’re excited
to officially break ground on
the historic Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway project, which will
provide New Yorkers with
improved open space for recreation
and respite,” Dockett
said.
Originally built in 1908 as
a race course by the railroad
mogul and financier William
Vanderbilt Jr. (1878-1944), the
Vanderbilt Motor Parkway
later developed into a major
public thoroughfare. It
was one of the first concrete
roads in the nation, the first
highway to use bridges and
overpasses, and the first highspeed
route from Queens to
Suffolk County.
The parkway’s largely untold
history is filled with intrigue:
race cars, bootlegging,
historic preservation efforts
and public controversy. Today,
the Parkway survives as
a bicycle path, but began as
America’s first all-elevated
road for cars.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or
by phone at (718) 260–4526.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards speaks during the ground-breaking ceremony.
2022
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