Flushing Meadows Corona Park

NYC PARKS BREAKS GROUND ON NEWEST PARKS WITHOUT BORDERS PROJECT SITE—FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, today joined Parks Chair of Community Board 4 Gregory Spock, Flushing Meadows Park Conservancy President Jean Silva, and community members to break ground on new improvements to Flushing Meadows Corona Park through the Parks Without Borders (PWB) initiative. Funding to revamp the park was provided by a $4.5 million allocation from Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Parks Without Borders is a design concept that improves the areas where parks meet their neighborhoods—park entrances, edges, and spaces adjacent to parks. By extending parks into communities, opening sight lines, adjusting gates, and adding furnishings outside of our parks’ traditional borders, PWB will improve New Yorkers’ access to quality parks.

“Flushing Meadows Corona Park is an incredible recreational resource for residents of Queens, and home to some of our city’s most recognizable landmarks,” said Commissioner Silver. “Through Parks Without Borders, we are redesigning the Henry Hudson entrance where this park meets the neighborhood, and transforming it into a welcoming passageway for generations of visitors to enjoy.”

Nominated for PWB by the community, the $4.5 million Flushing Meadows Corona Park project will reconstruct the entrance of the park at 111th Street between 53rd and 56th avenues. Improvements will include a reconstructed central entrance plaza, new sidewalks, wider pedestrian routes, and an expanded planting area. The new, accessible Henry Hudson entrance will welcome visitors and lead them directly to the Unisphere, a focal point of Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The project is anticipated to be completed in spring 2020.

Parks Without Borders was announced in November 2015 with a call for community involvement. NYC Parks asked New Yorkers to nominate the sites that would benefit the most from a PWB improvement project. Utilizing an online survey and 37 conferences with citizens, Parks received more than 6,000 nominations for 691 parks—approximately 30 percent of our parks. The eight selected showcase projects, sharing $40 million in funding from Mayor de Blasio, were revealed in May 2016; and an additional $10 million has been applied to another 40 capital projects in progress.

The other PWB showcase projects are: Fort Greene Park and Prospect Park (Brooklyn); Hugh Grant Circle / Virginia Park and Playground (Bronx); Jackie Robinson Park and Seward Park (Manhattan); Faber Park (Staten Island); and Flushing Meadows Corona Park (Queens).

As the site of two World’s Fairs, Flushing Meadows Corona Park has become a recreational escape for the residents of New York City and visitors from around the world. The park’s international flavor draws from the area’s diverse neighborhoods. Flushing Meadows Corona Park is home to Queen’s beloved symbol, The Unisphere, which features representations of the continents and celebrates the World’s Fairs theme of “Peace Through Understanding”. The park draws over three million visitors from all over the world for both spectator and recreational activities.

Know Before You Go

World's Fair Marina

Flushing Meadows Corona Park