Flushing Meadows Corona Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, November 3, 2011

Historic Flushing Meadows Boathouse Renovated

Photo by Daniel Avila

Nothing scary about this! On Halloween, Monday, October 31, Commissioner Benepe joined Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, City Council Member James Gennaro, and members of the American Small Craft Association (TASCA), Row New York, and the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival to take to the water and cut the ribbon on $7.3 million in renovations to the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Boathouse on Meadow Lake.

The Boathouse is one of three remaining structures constructed for the 1939 Fair, the other two being the NYC Building, which houses the Queens Museum, and the Queens Garage, which is used for Parks Department operations. Flushing Meadows Corona Park was itself constructed for the 1939 World’s Fair, as was Meadow Lake, on which the Boathouse sits.

This project was funded by $6.05 million allocated by Queens Borough President Marshall, $1.07 million from Mayor Bloomberg, and $163,000 from Council Member Gennaro. The renovation includes a renovation of the building’s façade and roof, and the installation of new mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems. The facility also contains ADA-compliant restrooms, a winterized meeting space, new storage space, and two additional roll-down gates. The old wooden dock has been replaced with a newly designed dock made of recycled plastic “lumber.”

Construction will soon begin on the paths which will run alongside Meadow Lake and extend south from the Boathouse. This project is funded by an additional $1 million allocated by Council Member Gennaro and $265,000 allocated by the Mayor. Another upcoming project will restore the natural habitat and reconstruct paths along the lake’s southwestern edge.

NEW POSITIONS ANNOUNCED AT PARKS’ NATURAL RESOURCES GROUP

Katerli Bounds, known to most Parkies as Kat, has assumed the new position of Deputy Director of Forest Restoration. In this role, Kat will coordinate the planning and execution of NRG’s forest restoration work. This includes supervising the forest restoration crews working citywide, the Croton funded restoration team in the Bronx, and a number of other grant-funded projects. In addition, she will manage the capitally funded invasive removal and site preparation work. Kat began her career at Parks in 2004 as a member of the second Green Apple Corps class. She worked as a CPW Crew Chief in Ft. Greene Park and as a Forestry Technician and Crew Leader for NRG. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and International Relations from the University of Southern California and an MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt. Kat is an avid bicyclist and former rugby player.

Taking on a new role as Special Projects Manager for NRG is Tim Wenskus. With 17 years experience working in New York City’s natural areas, Tim is perfectly positioned to coordinate NRG’s work with other divisions within Parks as well as other agencies. This work will include developing protection, acquisition, and restoration strategies; coordinating training; managing natural areas plant health issues; and continuing NRG’s forest entitation work. Tim graduated from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse with a BS in Forest Resource Management. In 1992 he joined the City Parks Foundation’s Urban Forest and Education Program. In 1998, Tim began his tenure at Parks with NRG as Senior Forester then Deputy Director. Tim’s attention to detail and vast historical knowledge of the city’s natural areas will further the critical role NRG plays in reaching the city’s sustainability goals. Unbeknownst to most, Tim is a passionate Syracuse Orangemen basketball fan.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749 - 1832)

Know Before You Go

World's Fair Marina

Flushing Meadows Corona Park