Nothing ‘Bland’ about this achievement
Residents of public housing complex in Flushing herald new playground and hoops court
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Assemblyman Ron Kim
and Bland House residents
in Flushing celebrated the
completion of the newly
restored Bland playground
and basketball court on
Aug. 20 with a ribboncutting
ceremony.
Kim was joined by members
of the Bland Residents
Association, representatives
of fellow elected officials,
and a representative from
NYCHA, congratulating
the local residents on the
new and greatly enhanced
community space.
“Today marks a momentous
occasion for Flushing. The
Bland playground and
basketball court are two
popular and highly frequented
local community spaces in our
neighborhood, but after years
of decline and neglect they
were in need of serious repairs
and improvement,” Kim said.
Kim had nominated and
secured $750,000 in funding
for the project through the
Dormitory Authority of the
State of New York (DASNY)
to ensure major structural
Assemblyman Ron Kim and Bland House residents cut the red ribbon at the renovated Bland playground
and basketball court. Photo by Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
restorations to the two
locations. After several lengthy
stages of work and planning,
he says, the endeavor has
finally been realized.
“Community spaces such
as these represent essential
public goods that benefit
all New Yorkers, and my
colleagues and I will do all
that we can to support the
preservation and expansion of
such vital spaces,” Kim said.
Migdalia Vargas, president
of the Bland Residents
Association, said they’re
overjoyed that the Bland
playground and basketball
court renovations are
finally complete.
“The members of the Bland
Residents Association have
long advocated and called for
greater community investment
in these and other shared
public spaces, and we are
thankful to Assembly member
Kim for his dedication and
successful efforts to revitalize
these two locations,” Vargas
said. “After years of disregard,
the restoration of these places
represents a landmark
achievement, and we hope that
will bring many more hours of
fun and enjoyment for all of the
children in our community.”
Bland House resident
Tamara Hill, who has been
living in the community
for 13 years, was delighted
to see the children playing
in the basketball court
and playground.
“We needed a new park
and I love it now. This is so
nice and it’s beautiful,” Hill
said. “We’re so grateful.
Our teenage children can
keep out of trouble. They
love the basketball court. I
love the activity bars on the
playground; the children
can climb and they’re
exercising their bodies.
They have learning tools
and there are more benches
as well. The energy level is
different now, and it’s not
just here for us, but also open
to everyone in Flushing.”
With the completion
of the playground, Bland
House residents are now
working with Kim to acquire
funding for the development
of a community center,
which was shut down years
ago. They would like to
utilize the space to conduct
meetings and activities,
Hill said.
Congresswoman Grace
Meng and Senator John Liu
congratulated Kim on his
efforts of bringing the project
to fruition.
City cuts ribbon on restored Sunset Cove Park
BY BILL PARRY
Sunset Cove in Broad
Channel has been reborn.
A decade ago this portion
of the Jamaica Bay waterfront
was a dumping ground but
after a $14 million ecological
restoration it is a pristine salt
marsh and bird habitat.
The city’s Parks
Department joined elected
officials and community
leaders to cut the ribbon to
officially open the new park
Tuesday and celebrate the new
open space that will also help
protect Broad Channel from
floodwaters and improve the
health of Jamaica Bay.
“After being closed for
a decade, Sunset Cove has
been brought back to life,”
NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver said. “This
park is so important because
it provides storm protection,
and improves the health of our
waterways. It’s a park where
people can come to take in the
waterfront views, and to learn
more about Jamaica Bay, one
of the wildest and most natural
areas in our city.”
Sunset Cove Park is a 12.57-
acre site located on a former
abandoned and derelict
marina. Workers removes
nearly 30,000 cubic yards of
hazardous and contaminated
soil, restored 4.5 acres of
salt marsh and 7 acres of
maritime upland, constructed
a perimeter berm and walking
trail, installed 16,000 tons of
clean sand and planted 200,000
new plugs to reestablish the
salt marsh.
A second phase of
construction will build a
boardwalk to provide shoreline
access over the salt marsh, as
well as a seasonal dock and
oyster garden with construction
beginning in 2021.
“It was amazing to see
the major changes made to
Sunset Cove as we ushered
in a new day for the Broad
Channel community,” state
Senator Joseph Addabbo said.
“What was once a blight area
Sunset Cove Park opened in Broad Channel after a $14 million salt
marsh restoration project. Courtesy Dan Avila/NYC Parks
riddled with abandoned boats
is now a beautiful, thriving
natural space. However, there
is still much work to be done
at Sunset Cove and I look
forward to being part of its
Phase 2 environmental and
educational improvements.”
NYC Parks partnered with
the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway
Parks Conservancy and the
Jamaica Bay Eco watchers
to recruit volunteers to
help populate the site with
plantings. The restored salt
marsh will now help to improve
water quality in Jamaica Bay,
and reduce wave and wind
impacts during storms, and
provide rich wildlife habitats
and reduce erosion.
“The Jamaica Bay
Ecowatchers are excited to
see the new Sunset Cove
Park officially open to the
public. This restored natural
area will allow visitors to
experience the beauty of
Jamaica Baty while providing
critical ecological functions
such as cleaning the waters
of the bay, creating critical
habitat for the bays wildlife
and sequestering carbon to
help with climate change,”
Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers
President Dan Mundy said.
The restoration was
stalled until Mayor Bill de
Blasio allocated $7 million to
match an existing $7 million
from the U.S. Department of
the Interior. Construction
began in spring 2018 and was
completed in June.
“Sunset Cove is such
an absolutely incredible
victory for this community,”
Assemblywoman Stacey
Pheffer Amato said. “This
community resource will
not only show off the natural
beauty of our water and its
ecosystem, but will create
the next generation of
environmentalists to preserve
and protect it.”
TIMESLEDGER,24 AUG. 23-29, 2019 QNS.COM
/QNS.COM
