TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | JULY 23-JULY 29, 2021
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Improvements to Challenge
Playground in Little Neck are
underway as the NYC Parks
Department, northeast Queens
elected officials and community
leaders broke ground on the
site on Thursday, July 5.
NYC Parks Queens Borough
Commissioner Michael
Dockett joined Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards,
Senator John Liu, Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein,
Councilman Barry Grodenchik
and Community Board 11
District Manager Joseph Marziliano
for the groundbreaking
at the playground located
at 251st Street and 61st Avenue.
“We’re excited to break
ground on renovations that
will transform Challenge Playground
into a more inclusive
and accessible green space,”
Dockett said. “Upon completion,
Queens residents and visitors
can enjoy enhanced play
and integral family-friendly
space for recreation and outdoor
fun. We’re grateful to
Borough President Richards
and Council member Grodenchik
for making this upgrade a
priority.”
This project will reconstruct
the existing playground
with brand-new sensory play
equipment, swings and spray
showers.
The new design will feature
auditory and visual elements
that will offer playful shadow
effects, sounds and touchable
textures. Additional upgrades
will include new seating and
picnic areas, plantings and repaved
pedestrian pathways for
easier access to the play area.
Renovations to Challenge
Playground were made possible
by a $75,000 allocation from
Grodenchik and $3 million
from former Borough President
Melinda Katz, with continued
support from Richards.
The project is expected to
be completed in spring 2022.
Richards thanked the de
Blasio administration and
Grodenchik for making the
groundbreaking possible.
“This is a great day for the
children and families of Little
Neck as we break ground on
this first-class playground,”
Richards said. “Children need
to have high-quality places
to play in order for them to
grow and thrive, and the reconstructed
Challenge Playground
will be such a space.”
Grodenchik said the improvements
to the playground
will create an amazing outdoor
space where local residents,
especially children, will
be able to connect, interact and
thrive for years to come.
“Playgrounds are critical to
the health of a community, so
the redesign and reconstruction
of Challenge Playground
will provide tremendous benefit
to the communities of
Little Neck and Douglaston,”
Grodenchik said.
Children and families are
spending more time outdoors,
which is great for health and
well-being, mentally and physically,
according to Liu.
“The Challenge Playground
has a special place in
our community’s history and
it’s long time to rebuild this important
public asset,” Liu said.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
A Queens lawmaker called
on the city to make longawaited
sidewalk repairs
nearly a year after Tropical
Storm Isaias wreaked havoc
in the metropolitan area.
On Tuesday, July 13, Senator
John Liu joined with
community leaders and local
homeowners in Bellerose
who highlighted the dangers
surrounding the neglected
sidewalks. For the past 11
months, residents have put
up traffic cones and homemade
signs to warn pedestrians
of the the damage and
dangerous conditions.
The group said that after
months of delays, the city
failed to make good on its
promise to begin repairs in
early spring “when the weather
is warmer.” Since then,
they said that there have been
no updates or follow-ups as to
when the city would begin fixing
the uprooted sidewalks.
“These sidewalks are used
daily by children, seniors and
other pedestrians to get to
schools, parks, grocery stores,
and to run daily errands. Sidewalk
safety is more important
than ever with the rise in pedestrian
usage and it’s unfathomable
that a year later the
city has failed to make these
repairs,” Liu said. “The city
must get this work done yesterday,
to protect pedestrians
from injury, to relieve homeowners
of prolonged anxiety
and to spare our taxpayers
from potentially costly lawsuits
against the city.”
Isaias hit the East Coast
and the Caribbean in August
2020, leading to Governor Cuomo
calling for a state of emergency
in the days following to
help with cleanup and power
restoration.
In the aftermath of Isaias,
Queens residents reportedly
had over 9,300 reports
of downed trees at the time,
making it the borough with
the most tree damage in the
city. Residents said that the
state of the sidewalks was
not only a safety hazard but
an eyesore for homeowners
who liked to maintain a high
standard for neighborhood
aesthetics.
“As a longtime Bellerose
home owner who takes pride
in maintaining the property
in pristine condition, I am
distressed by having the sidewalk
in such an unattractive,
unsafe and dangerous condition
Courtesy of Senator John Liu’s office
for the last year. The city
promised to repair it but they
still have not done so,” Kathy
Parent said.
Lifelong Whitestone resident
Angela DeNicola, a
93-year-old cancer survivor,
echoed Parent’s sentiment.
“I find it unacceptable that
the upended sidewalk, caused
by a NYC tree that fell in a
storm last August, has not
been repaired. After numerous
calls to various agencies,
to no avail, it remains a safety
issue,” DeNicola said.
According to a city spokesperson,
sidewalk repairs
would be coming to the community
sooner rather than
later.
“We’re grateful to all the
elected officials who highlighted
the outstanding work
today, and we look forward
to making the repairs in the
coming weeks. Queens deserves
safe and accessible
sidewalks and we’ll do everything
we can to expedite
the process from here,” said
Mitch Schwartz, a spokesperson
for the mayor.
Reach reporter Jenna Bagcal
by e-mail at jbagcal@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2583.
The NYC Parks Department along with elected officials and
community residents at the groundbreaking of Challenge
Playground in Little Neck. Photo by NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
City’s Parks Department
breaks ground at Challenge
Playground in Little Neck
NE Queens leaders call on city
to fi x year-old sidewalk damage
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