BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens elected officials
and community leaders joined
NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle
Fialkoff on Friday, Dec.
17, to cut the ribbon on the
completion of the first phase of
reconstruction of the Vanderbilt
Motor Parkway in Alley
Pond Park.
“The Vanderbilt Motor
Parkway is both a recreational
asset and a living piece of New
York City history — and now
this bike and pedestrian path
has received the makeover it
deserves,” Fialkoff said.
Originally built in 1908 as
a racecourse by the railroad
mogul and financier William
Vanderbilt Jr., today the path
serves as a scenic bike and
pedestrian walkway that connects
Cunningham and Alley
Pond Parks in eastern Queens.
The reconstruction project
was funded with $1.85 million
total, including $1.435 million
from Grodenchik and an additional
$415,000 from Mayor
Bill de Blasio.
The project is the first
phase of work that includes
the reconstruction of 0.8 miles
of the Vanderbilt Motor Parkway
from Winchester Boulevard
by the entrance to Alley
Pond Park to Springfield
Boulevard. The scope of work
includes new asphalt pavement,
new rustic timber guide
rail, benches, trees and shrub
plantings.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards, Senator
John Liu, Assemblywoman
Nily Rozic, Councilman Barry
Grodenchik, Community
Board 8 Chair Martha Taylor
and President of the Long Island
Motor Parkway Preservation
Society Howard Kroplick
were in attendance for the
ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The Vanderbilt Long Island
Motor Parkway had not been
repaved in decades and was in
desperate need of an upgrade,
Grodenchik said.
IN SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS AWARDED ANNUALLY
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.4 COM | DEC. 31, 2021 - JAN. 6, 2022
NYC Parks Commissioner Gabrielle Fialkoff speaks about the first phase of Vanderbilt Motor Parkway
at a press conference held on Friday, Dec. 17. Photo by Daniel Avila/NYC Parks
“My advocacy for this project
was driven by the frequent
requests I received from local
residents for whom the path
provides a clean, safe, quiet
place for exercise and recreation;
the ongoing pandemic
only reinforces the importance
of access to outdoor public
space,” Grodenchik said. “I
thank the mayor for providing
the funding that will allow the
remainder of the path to be
resurfaced and the Parks Department
for doing a magnificent
job on the first stretch.”
A second phase of renovations,
which Mayor de Blasio
funded with $3.685 million,
will address the additional
two miles of parkway, from
Springfield Boulevard to 199th
Street. It is expected to begin
construction next year.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Parks cuts ribbon on fi rst
phase of reconstruction of
Vanderbilt Motor Parkway
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