Art
BY ANGELA MATUA
AMATUA@QNS.COM
A basketball court underneath
the Triborough Bridge in As-toria
recently received a big
makeover thanks to an artist
known for his large-scale, colorful murals.
On March 1, Brooklyn-based art-ist
Mark Paul Deren, better known as
MADSTEEZ, completed a custom court
design at Triborough Bridge Playground
B. It was the first renovation for the court
in more than 20 years. The design was
done in partnership with the Big Ten
Network, the sports television network
that streams collegiate sports games
by Big Ten Conference teams.
The art features the colors of all 14
Big Ten universities and includes the art-ist’s
signature M on the asphalt. Two new
basketball hoops were also installed.
Former New York Knicks player Jared
Jeffries helped to unveil the design
with a youth clinic run by NBA trainer
Makeover
Chris Brickley. About 50 students from
After-School All Stars and the Zone
126 after-school program in Astoria
participated in the clinic.
“The Big Ten Network has brought
color and fun into this neighborhood
basketball court,” said Queens Borough
28 MARCH 2018 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewan-dowski.
“With new rims, weather-resis-tant
asphalt and an eye-catching mural,
these hoops are sure to be a hit.”
Brooklyn-based artist MADSTEEZ
has created large-scale murals and
other designs for companies such as
Big
Nike, BMW, Target, Red Bull and more.
“This has to be one of my favorite/
most rewarding projects I have worked
on,” the artist said in an Instagram post.
“It’s one thing to paint a public mural
but it’s even more gratifying to paint a
public space that people can interact
with and physically enjoy.”
The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tour-nament
took place at Madison Square
Garden from Feb. 28 through March
4 and Jordan Maleh, director of digital
marketing and communications at BTN,
said the organization wanted to give
back to the community.
“The basketball tradition in New York
City is second to none, and it’s one of
the many reasons the Big Ten Men’s
Basketball Tournament has made its
way to Madison Square Garden,” Maleh
said. “As a network our goal was to,
even in a small way, make a meaningful
contribution to that culture and we’ve
been fortunate to have a partner like
NYC Parks to make it a reality.”
Photos courtesy of Big Ten Network
