4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 26, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Travers Park reconstruction on track for 2019
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com / @jen_bagcal
Jackson Heights residents will be enjoying
Fresh Meadows resident says trees need better care
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Since last summer, lifelong Fresh
Meadows resident and retired teacher
John Amato has made it his mission to
see the borough’s trees get the attention
they deserve.
In a journal, Amato logs each tree he
observes as dead, rotting or posing a danger
to the community in his and surrounding
eastern Queens neighborhoods.
He then reports his fi ndings to 311 and the
city’s Department of Parks and Recreation
and keeps track of each service request.
“I decided one day to do something
about this,” he said. “I’m a nature-lover,
like a lot of people are.”
One tree in front of a home at 164th
Street and 67th Avenue — near his own
home within the Electchester co-op complex
— is of special concern, Amato told
the Courier while on site. At least three
large branches have broken off the tree
in recent months, he said, and the tree is
partly dead.
“Th is thing has been like this for close
to three years now,” he said. “All the roots
are above the sidewalk and lift ing the sidewalk.”
Amato contacted 311 this summer and
followed up with the Forestry Division,
who said they inspected the tree and created
a work order.
Homeowner Judy P. said she’s called
311 three times about the problematic
tree. Another large limb came down a few
weeks ago, she said, and in October 2017
a limb fell across the street and had to be
broken down and removed by
the Fire Department.
“Th ey sent me back an email:
‘No work needs to be done,’”
she said. “A few weeks later, a
tree limb came down.”
Parks Department spokesperson
Meghan Lalor said the
31” diameter Norway maple
was inspected in July 2017, at
which point a Category “C”
work order for tree removal.
Th is was according to the agency’s
recently launched Tree
Risk Management Program,
which prioritizes work according
to tree conditions presenting
the highest risk to public
safety and property.
“We will complete all work in
Category ‘A’ fi rst and address
work in lower priority categories in accordance
with available resources,” the
spokesperson said.
Amato, who was aware of the C rating,
said he believes the tree requires a more
immediate response.
A couple of blocks away, four trees
planted near at Holy Family Church and
Catholic Academy are also cause for concern,
according to Amato. One tree has a
limb that reaches out and hangs next to
a convent window, he pointed out, while
a large tree at the corner of 175th Street
and 74th Avenue frequently sheds small
to large branches and leans toward the
school.
“Th e children walk down here with their
parents. Th e sisters come out of the convent,”
he said. “What if someone were
struck by a fallen branch?”
All four trees were called into 311.
Amato said school principal Mary Scheer
has also reported the hazardous trees.
Two of the smaller trees were inspected
in November 2017, according to Lalor,
and “found to be in good condition and
require routine block-pruning.”
Two trees outside of Kissena Park, along
164th Street between Lithonia and Metcalf
Avenues also raised a red fl ag for Amato.
Th e trees lean out toward the street and
show signs of damage, he said.
Lalor said these trees were inspected on
March 28.
“Th e trees were found to be in good
condition and did not warrant removal,”
Lalor said. “Phototropic leaning is a naturally
occurring event where trees lean
toward the light. A leaning tree does not
automatically indicate poor health.”
Amato said the Parks Department
should do more to keep homeowners,
business owners and constituents in the
loop about the condition of the neighborhoods
trees.
“Why can’t the inspector have a triplicate
pad where they write up a description
of the inspection and explain exactly what
is wrong with the tree?” Amato said. “By
going online you can check it, but I think
a receipt with a signature of a person is
important for your records.”
Amato voiced his support for legislation
presented by northeast Queens representative
state Senator Tony Avella. Th e
bill proposes legislation to establish a task
force to evaluate the Parks Department’s
policies on tree maintenance; it is currently
in committee.
“Th ere is an issue here,” he said. “More
people have to be aware: trees need to
be taken care of like people. Th e Parks
Department works very hard but I think
they need more people, more staff .”
Amato is one of a series of homeowners
who have spoken out about the condition
of northeast Queens’ trees in recent
months.
Flushing residents living near Kissena
Park spoke out about trees they deemed
hazardous at a press conference organized
by Avella earlier this month. Hollis Hills
local Louis Lapolla spoke with the Courier
in March about rotting trees planted along
the Union Turnpike median.
a new and improved version of
Travers Park by the end of 2019, as several
city and state offi cials gathered for
the park’s symbolic groundbreaking ceremony
on Friday, April 20.
Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy
Lewandowski, Queens Borough President
Melinda Katz and Councilman Daniel
Dromm were among those in attendance
for the start of the highly anticipated park
reconstruction.
“The long-awaited renovation of
Travers Park has fi nally begun,” Dromm
said. “We, as a community, fought so
hard to make this renovation a reality
and now it’s actually happening. Jackson
Heights is a thriving and growing community
which treasures its parks.”
Designs for the project began in March
2014 and were complete in November
2016. Th e plans involve combining the
current Travers Park with the 78th Street
Pedestrian Plaza and Staunton Park, creating
a new opened space as part of the
“Parks Without Borders” initiative.
Th e $50 million initiative was funded
by Mayor Bill de Blasio in order to make
parks more accessible, improve neighborhoods
and create vibrant public spaces,
according to NYC Parks Department
website. Other parks that have benefi ted
from this initiate include Van Cortland
Park in the Bronx, Prospect Park in
Brooklyn and Jackie Robinson Park in
Manhattan.
In total, the reconstruction will cost
about $7.1 million through funds allocated
by de Blasio, Dromm and Katz.
Th e borough president is also kicking in
another $2 million toward the Travers
Park tot lot, a related project part of a
separate contract.
“Th e best of our city’s parks integrate
with the adjacent communities, without
boundaries, fl owing from park to street
to neighborhood, just as pedestrians do,”
said NYC Department of Transportation
Queens Deputy Borough Commissioner
Albert Silvestri, who was also in attendance
on Friday. “Th e new Travers Park
will be a more open and welcoming space
for everyone, providing space for play,
sports and relaxation.”
To ensure that the park lands are
constantly utilized, the project will be
completed and opened to the public in
phases. Some of the new features to be
built include a performance arts center
with stadium seating, a multi-purpose
asphalt fi eld and a great lawn complete
with fl owering trees, benches and
game tables.
Travers Park was founded in 1948 in
Jackson Heights. Th e park got its name
from neighborhood leader Th omas J.
Travers, who devoted much of his time
to serving in community and religious
groups within the neighborhood. Th e
Manhattan native moved to Jackson
Heights when he returned from the Navy
during World War I. When Travers died
in 1958, the community board chose to
name the park in his memory.
Th e reconstruction project, which
started offi cially in March 2018, is slated
to be fi nished by fall 2019.
“Public parks are safe havens for our
children, families, neighbors and visitors.
Particularly in Jackson Heights, Travers
Park is one of the few open public spaces
we have available for the community to
enjoy their free time, play sports or simply
hang out with friends,” state Senator
Jose Peralta said.
Photo Credit: NYC Parks/Daniel Avila
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/the Courier
John Amato stands beside a large tree by Holy Family Church
in Fresh Meadows
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