Community News www.qns.com i LIC COURIER i April 2017 19 By Angela Matua After months of community input, the Parks Department has released a rendering for the first phase of improvements at Astoria Park. The park will receive $30 million for upgrades as part of the city’s Anchor Parks initiative that was announced last August. In total, five city parks will receive money to put toward amenities such as new soccer fields, comfort stations, running tracks and hiking trails. According to Meghan Lalor, spokesperson for the Parks Department, the first phase will increase and improve the play capacity near the track and soccer field, protect existing trees and enhance planting and provide drainage and erosion solutions. The current soccer field will be replaced by a 180-by-360-foot synthetic turf soccer field surrounded by a newly reconstructed 400-meter running track. Additionally, the space will include adult fitness equipment, drinking fountains, bottle fillers and misting posts and a new seating area with bleachers. The Parks Department expects to complete the re-design by December 2017. The project will cost $13.5 million, which leaves about $16.5 million for additional improvements. Those include the reconstruction of Charybdis Playground, adding more gathering spaces, lighting, green infrastructure such as rain gardens and new programming. Photo courtesy of Parks Department New & Improved Astoria Park
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