Flushing Meadows Corona Park

NYC PARKS RETIRES SIX DEDICATED PARKIES AT THE “HOME FOR RETIRED PLAYGROUND ANIMALS” IN FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK

Six playground animal sculptures have been retired and moved to the park, with a newly created passive, contemplative home in Queens

Today, NYC Parks hosted a “retirement party” for six former playground animal sculptures, and unveiled their new home in Flushing Meadows Corona Park – a passive, contemplative new area adjacent to the Unisphere, the “Home for Retired Playground Animals.”

At NYC Parks, our civil servants take many forms: not only park workers, but also the beloved concrete animals children have been playing on for decades in our playgrounds across the city,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “We’re so excited to unveil this new contemplative space in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, as we send some of our hardest-working employees into retirement in style. We hope that despite their retirement, they will continue to inspire imagination and creativity in parkgoers into the future.”

Hailing from all across the city, these playground animal sculptures loyally served the City’s kids in playgrounds for decades. The sculptures now on display in Flushing Medows Corona Park include:

• One Aardvark

• One Camel

• One Frog

• One Elephant

• Two Dolphins

As part of the new space created in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, new benches have been installed to add to the contemplative nature of the area, and a new accessible pathway has also been added to allow parkgoers easy access through the area from three separate points. Parks will also be enhancing the existing canopy with additional trees, shrubs, and landscaping elements.

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