Joseph Austin Playground

What was here before?

This area sits atop the terminal moraine, the end of steep glacier hills which accumulated rocks and debris, that stretches across Brooklyn and Queens. During the late 1800s to early 1900s, wealthy landowners built estates in the region taking advantage of the vistas. In 1913, the Long Island Railroad was extended nearby and made it possible for people to commute to and from the crowded city.

How did this site become a playground?

The City acquired this property on January 31, 1945. It was chosen as the new site for the relocation of Thomas A. Edison Vocational Technical High School in 1955, and the playground was planned to adjoin the school. The property is a Jointly Operated Playground (JOP) serving Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School and the local community. Beginning in 1938, the Board of Education agreed to provide land next to schools where the Parks Department could build and maintain playgrounds that could be used by the school during the day and the public on evenings and weekends. The playground opened on May 25, 1960

Joseph Austin Playground underwent construction in 2001 for new play equipment. In 2018, a state-of-the-art multipurpose turf field for baseball, softball and soccer was installed.

Who is this playground named for?

Joseph Austin (1904-1998) was a longtime youth league coach and active member of the Jamaica, Queens community.

Austin was born on March 19, 1904 at his family home on Chichester Avenue (now 95th Avenue) and Guilford Boulevard (now Jamaica Boulevard). He attended Public School 62 and Jamaica High School. As one of ten children, Austin worked after school at the Boyce MotoMeter Company in Long Island City to support his family. Austin played on the company baseball team and would later play semi-professional baseball on various teams.

After losing his job at the Boyce MotoMeter Company during the Great Depression, Austin coached co-ed youth sports teams in baseball, basketball, and football. He continued coaching after he found a job at the Piels Brewery in Brooklyn once the 21st Amendment ended prohibition in 1933.

One of Austin’s most famous players was Governor Mario M. Cuomo (1932-2015), a fellow dedicated public servant and accomplished baseball player. Cuomo played for Austin from age eight until he was a teenager, and later played college baseball at St. John’s University and eventually signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In 1983, Austin received an honorary degree from Queens College for his lifetime of work with the youth of Queens. Austin could still be seen, at the age of 79, running batting practices and instructing local youth in this park. The site was renamed Joseph Austin Playground for the longtime coach by a local law in 1983 and was dedicated in a ceremony on March 15, 1984, one day before Austin’s 80th birthday.