C R Y D E R P O I N T 12 Juen NYS PAVILION TO GET FREE PAINT JOB BY ROBERT POZARYCKI AND ANGY ALTAMIRANO The city Parks Department and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz announced on May 6 the latest efforts to spruce up the New York State Pavilion at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Katz and Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver will herald a new partnership with two local labor unions — the New York Structural Steel Painting Contractors Association and the International Union of Painting and Allied Trades Local 806 District 9 — to repaint the upper portions of the Tent of Tomorrow, the elliptical steel building in the shadow of the pavilion’s space needles. “Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s Tent of Tomorrow is an iconic symbol of Queens, but we haven’t been able to give it the treatment it deserves until now,” Silver said. “Thanks to a partnership with the Structural Steel Painters Union, the building is being restored and beautified so that it may remain a source of pride for the entire borough, and a reminder of the World’s Fairs, for years to come.” The new paint system of the pavilion, which is expected to be completed by this fall, will serve as a protective coating and extend the life of the structure by at least 15 years. The $3 million effort will be undertaken free of charge through a painting apprenticeship program operated The Parks Department and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz announced on May 6 plans to repaint the Tent of Tomorrow. by the unions, allowing painters to gain work experience. “Due to the tremendous generosity of Painters DC 9 and the Painting Contractors Association, the pavilion will be refreshed with a new coat of paint,” Katz said. “We’re working hard to save this architectural marvel, and the facelift is a great boon to our efforts. We will restore this national treasure into a visible icon befitting the ‘World’s Borough’ for generations of families and visitors to enjoy.” In recent years, local volunteers 12 cryder point courier | June 2015 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM and historians have advocated for refurbishing the pavilion, one of the last remaining fixtures of the 1964-65 World’s Fair. The pavilion’s space needles served as observation decks, while the Tent of Tomorrow — once featuring a stained-glass roof and a terrazzo tile roadmap of New York State — was an entertainment venue. The Tent of Tomorrow was used sporadically for years after the fair’s conclusion, but fell into disrepair along with the rest of the pavilion over the last few decades. THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano Full restoration of the pavilion is estimated to cost at least $43 million, according to a Parks Department announcement last November. Katz, Mayor Bill de Blasio and the City Council have already secured a combined $6 million in funds to repair the towers and its electrical infrastructure. A group of volunteers also formed the New York State Pavilion Paint Project to provide short-term renovations while Katz and other city officials worked on a long-term plan for the pavilion’s rehabilitation. Flushing Meadows to hold free World’s Fair Anniversary Festival this June BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA A free festival, once again celebrating the 1939-1940 and 1964-1965 World’s Fairs, will be held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park this June with music, food and family-friendly activities. The Sunday, June 7, event, co-hosted by Borough President Melinda Katz and Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, will also offer the chance to look back at the historic fairs. There will be displays of World’s Fair memorabilia and vintage cars, a guided World’s Fair history walking tour of the park to learn about the remaining structures and sculptures, and the Queens Museum’s World’s Fair exhibit, according to the Parks Department. Kids can enjoy rides, including half off on the park’s historic carousel, craft projects, strolling magicians, a visit by Mr. Met and mini tennis clinics by the USTA. Puppets in the Park will also offer two performances of The Tales of Brier Rabbit. Hungry fairgoers can try international foods at the LIC Flea Food Market, and musics lovers can listen to an eclectic mix of international music performed throughout the afternoon and a Summer- Stage concert featuring Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires, Hollis Brown and Damien Escobar. The 1939-1940 and 1964-1965 World’s Fairs, which each had two seasons, from April to October, ended 75 and 50 years ago this year. In May 2014, a free World’s Fair Anniversary Festival was also held at Flushing Meadows Park. The event was part of a lineup of events to mark the anniversary of the start of the World’s Fairs, including the opening of the New York State Pavilion to the public for the first time in decades. The World’s Fair Anniversary Festival will be held on Sunday, June 7, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. near the Unisphere. The SummerStage concert will start at 4 p.m.
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