14
Public Parks
Astoria Park offers shoreline access to the East River, views of
Manhattan and Randall’s Island, an outdoor pool, and multiple
recreational activities, lying below two bridges, the Robert F.
Kennedy (formerly Triborough) and Hell Gate. Located at the
western end of Ditmars Boulevard and covering about 60 acres,
the public space has running tracks, dog runs, skate parks, tennis
courts, a track, basketball courts, a bandstand, and many trails. A
high-quality ultimate Frisbee game takes place there on Saturday
mornings all year.
Inside scoop: The pool is almost exactly one acre in size.
Address: Bounded by Shore Boulevard, Ditmars Boulevard, 19th
Street, 21st Street, and Hoyt Avenue, Astoria.
Baisley Pond Park is known in the West Indian community as a
great place to play cricket. But tennis, handball, and basketball
players use the almost 110 acres, too, as do bicycle riders,
rollerbladers, joggers, picnickers, and naturalists. Located near
the North Conduit Avenue, the grounds also host an annual
gospel festival and puppet shows.
Inside scoop: Inside the park, the Sutphin Playground has a
sculpture of an American mastodon, an extinct elephant-like
animal that recalls the 1850s, when workers dredging the pond
found the bones of an individual that lived in the area almost
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Astoria Park