FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 15, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 34
Funding secured for climate resilience plan for Flushing Meadows Corona Park
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Waterfront Alliance announced that its
proposed climate resilience plan for Flushing
Meadows Corona Park has been awarded
$531,000 in Community Project Funding as
part of the new federal spending package that
was recently signed into law.
Last spring, Congresswoman Grace Meng
submitted her 10 community funding requests
to the House Appropriations Committee for
review.
Th e primary objectives of Waterfront Alliance’s
“Flushing Meadows Corona Park: A Hub
for Climate Resilience” are to increase public
awareness about local climate risks; build
community participation in planning and
infrastructure projects; and identify potential
resilience solutions for future investigations
and development.
“As Queens’ signature local and destination
park, serving several central and northern
Queens communities with high social vulnerability,
we must ensure that the park and
surrounding communities are prepared for
our climate future,” Waterfront Alliance VP
of Programs Karen Imas said. “Tremendous
thanks to Congresswoman Meng for her climate
leadership. Th is project is particularly
timely as increased funding may come to our
region for climate change adaptation projects
per the infrastructure funding package.”
Working with Queens community leaders,
partners in city government and academia,
Waterfront Alliance will provide tools and
lead events to share and gather information
that will culminate in a climate visioning for
the park. Th ese concrete recommendations and
concept plans can better position the park and
surrounding community to receive city, state
and federal funding for resilience projects.
“Flushing Meadows Corona Park is a beautiful
landmark of our district. It provides a
lovely area for recreational and leisure activities,
refuge from the heat in the summer and
possesses one of the most beautiful sculptures
in all of New York, the Unisphere,” Meng said.
“Th at is why I am so pleased that the Waterfront
Alliance will receive funding through the new
government spending package to help the park
battle the eff ects of climate change. Stormwater
from surrounding neighborhoods continuously
fl ood the park and in some areas, the park is
projected to be permanently fl ooded due to
the rising sea levels in the coming decades. Th e
funds will help make key assessments, plan out
necessary strategies, and begin implementation
to help keep the park open for Queens residents
for generations to come.”
Flushing Meadows Corona Park was identifi
ed by the Center for an Urban Future as the
most-fl ooded park in the city alongside Forest
Park due to increasingly heavy rains. Recent
extreme weather events including Hurricane
Ida reinforce the need for better preparation
and planning. Torrential waters forced the
NYPD to conduct multiple rescues in Flushing
Meadows Corona Park when stormwater
from the Grand Central Parkway and the Van
Wyck Expressway ran off into areas of the park.
Access to recreational programs and facilities
in the park was halted due to sustained damage
to buildings.
“Once a fl ourishing tidal wetland that absorbed
waters from Flushing Bay and the Long
Island Sound, Flushing Meadows Corona Park
has undergone many transformations — a coal
ash dumping ground, two World’s Fairs and
one of the top 10 biggest parks in NYC,” Guardians
of Flushing Bay (GoFB) Executive Director
Rebecca Pryor said. “GoFB is eager to play a
role to envision the park’s next stage of transformation:
as a climate resilient hub for the surrounding
environmental justice communities
who depend on it. We are looking forward to
collaborating with Waterfront Alliance and
our local partners in this process, and we are
sincerely thankful to Congress member Grace
Meng for making the project possible.”
Additionally, the park faces risks due to sea
level rise and storm surge, with much of the
park facing permanent inundation by 2080,
according to the New York Panel on Climate
Change, and other areas only recently being
brought back online following damage from
Hurricane Sandy.
QNS fi le photo
Flushing Meadows Corona Park is at risk of inundation due to climate change and fl ooding from Hurricane Ida
provided a preview last fall. Congresswoman Grace Meng secured a federal grant so Waterfront Alliance can
develop a climate resilience plan for the vital green space.
Elmhurst parent group talks pedestrian and traffi c safety with DOT representatives
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Th e P.S./I.S. 102Q Bayview Parent Association
recently partnered with the NYC Department
of Transportation to provide parents
and guardians with an informative virtual
workshop on pedestrian and traffi c safety.
At the parent association’s monthly meeting
last week, a DOT representative came to educate
the parents and provide 10 booster seats as
raffl e prizes. Th e presentation went over how to
stay safe as a pedestrian, passenger and cyclist.
Each year, DOT serves over 500 schools by
working with students and parents as part of
the Vision Zero initiative to discuss safety. Th ey
also work with older youth around issues of distracted
and impaired driving as well. According
to a DOT representative, they work with
school communities closely to address their
safety concerns and connect them with the
school safety engineering department at DOT.
“Education is a cornerstone of Vision Zero,
along with our engineering and enforcement
eff orts,” said spokesperson Vincent Barone.
“We provide outreach to hundreds of schools
each year and we’re happy to discuss pedestrian,
bicycle and child passenger safety with P.S./I.S.
102Q Parent Association.”
Th e parent association has oft en advocated
for safer school crossings, particularly at Van
Horn Street and 55th Road. Ferdie Lee, the
president of the group, said that they are in
need of a stop sign and crosswalks to allow
their children to walk to and from school
safely.
“I felt that the pedestrian safety was most
relevant as we live in New York City, where
walking is commonplace,” Lee said. “We have
students who walk to school. It’s easy to assume
everyone knows how to cross the street, but it’s
just not the case. Also, oft en children and adults
are distracted by their electronic devices.”
Lee said that she has oft en felt unsafe walking
the crosswalks in her community.
“My son and I were walking home and the
distracted driver was turning left towards the
crosswalk,” Lee said. “It was not until another
driver honked to get his attention and he was
an arm’s reach away from us that he stopped.”
In other areas of Queens like Glendale, parents
and community members have rallied to
bring attention to needed safety measures at
crosswalks. Just a couple of weeks ago, nearly
300 residents gathered at Stanhope Street and
Fairview Avenue to call for visible crosswalks
and pedestrian signals. According to the DOT,
they are working to bring new safety measures
to the area.
Photo provided by P.S./I.S. 102Q Bayview’s Parent Association
DOT provided 10 booster seats as raffl e prizes for Elmhurst parents.
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