Geese and other wildlife mingle with visitors at flushing meadows- corona park.
Park
It On The Green
Queens
Greenspots & Playgrounds
Geese and other wildlife mingle with visitors at flushing meadows- corona park. |
Manhattan,
Brooklyn and Staten Island are all green with envy over Queens’ Greenspots –
all 7,106 acres of them. This spacious borough is filled with parklands, playgrounds,
traffic triangles, public gardens and green street spots.
The parks in
Queens are as diverse as the borough’s residents – from beaches on the
Rockaway coast to Astoria Park’s 14 tennis courts, there is something for
everyone with the bike trails, running paths, swimming pools, concert halls,
carousels, horseback riding, sculpture gardens and more.
The largest
park in Queens is Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which hosts not only Queens
residents looking to relax, but also the New York Mets, the U.S. Open at the
USTA Tennis Center, the New York Hall of Science, Queens Theatre in the Park,
the Queens Museum of Art and several remnants from the two World’s Fairs.
Probably the most prominent of all remains the Unisphere, which has become a
symbol for the borough.
Below is a
listing of Queens’ parks the New York City Parks Department operates and
maintains.
 Kissena park has a public golf course. |
Alley
Pond Park:
Alley Pond Park’s 655 acres provides the grounds for the second largest park
in Queens with nature trails (1.5 miles), educational centers,
and wildlife in northeastern Queens. The park also features Douglaston
Estate Windmill and the neighboring CUNY Queensborough Community College.
Astoria
Park: Astoria
Park’s Olympic-size swimming pool hosted Olympic trials in the 1960s. The
park’s 833 acres provides space for solace and entertainment for Queensites
– including the annual July 4 fireworks and Queens Symphony Orchestra Concert,
part of an annual summer-long concert series.
Baisley
Park and Pond: The
use for over 100 acres that now make up Baisley Park dates back to when the
Jameco Indians crossed over the land to Rockaway. Although the pond switched
owners over the years, people always skated, fished and swam in its water.
Finally in the 1930s the pond became a public park.
Cunningham
Park: Major
attractions on this park’s 350 acres include tennis courts, nature trails (2
miles), soccer fields, bicycling, bocce, tennis and barbecuing. There are also
summer concerts held in the park every summer. For the Cunningham Park Tennis
Center call (718) 740-6800.
Flushing
Meadows-Corona Park: 1255 acres makes
this park, originally a dump, the second largest park in New York City. The park
was created for the World’s Fair in 1939-40 and
again in 1964-65. Along with the Mets and the U.S. Open, the park offers
the World’s Fair Marina, an indoor ice skating rink, Unisphere, Queens
Wildlife Center, Queens Theater in the Park, Queens Museum of Art, New York Hall
of Science, model airplane field, model boat pond, a botanical garden, pitch and
putt golf course, petting zoos, boat and bike rentals, carousel, bike paths,
bird watching, cricket and the Playground for All Children, a handicap
accessible park.
 Smokey oval playground. |
Forest
Park: Complete
with its own golf course, horse stables, nature trails, carousel, model airplane
field, horseshoe pitches and band shell, Forest Park measures up to the larger
parks in Queens even if it’s not as big. Its name gives away the fact that over
400 of its 538 acres are covered in woods. For horseback lessons call Lynn’s
Riding School at (718) 261-7679. For the Dixie Dew Stables contact (718) 263-3500.
Juniper
Valley Park: The
Juniper Park Civic Association has helped maintain this park for 60 years. This
hard working group publishes Juniper Berry Magazine, cleans up the neighborhood
and keeps the park functioning. The park was completed in the early 40s boasting
55 acres, 540 shade trees, numerous play areas and baseball fields and tennis
courts.
Kissena
Park:
With Kissena Park’s bicycles paths, cross-country running track, nature trials
and soccer and baseball fields there is no reason visitors can’t get a good
workout. But if you just want to relax, picnic by Kissena Lake or under over 100
varieties of European and Asian trees. There is also a golf course on the 235
acres of land. To contact the Kissena Park Golf Course call (718) 939-4594.
Rockaway
Beach and Boardwalk:
Swimming is especially popular in this 96-acre park that borders 7.5 miles of
the Atlantic Ocean. You can barbecue at Beach 17th, 88th and 98th streets. Quiet
zones are in effect from Beach 73rd to 77th streets and 145th to
149th streets.
Socrates
Sculpture Park:
Once an illegal garbage dump, Socrates Sculpture Park, in Long Island City, is
now a 4.5-acre park filled with constantly changing outdoor sculptures.
Other
larger parks include:
Francis
Lewis Park - 17 acres
Fort
Totten - 10 acres - The 10 acres of
Fort Totten’s military base are being turned over to the Park’s Department
when the land becomes New York City land.
Roy
Wilkins Park - 53 acres
This information was
gathered from www.nyc.govparks.org, newyork.citysearch.com, queenslibrary.org,
junipercivic.com and queenschamber.org
Where The
Games Begins
Astoria
Park, Bowne Park, Brookville Park, Cunningham Park, Dry Harbor Playground,
Highland Park, Joseph P. Addabbo Memorial Park, Juniper North Playground Tennis,
Kissena Park, Louis C. Moser Park, Marine Park, Maurice Park, Middle Village
Playground, Triborough Bridge Playground, William T. Moore Park
Dog
Run
Windmuller
Park
Baisley
Park, Cunningham Park, Flushing Memorial Park, Forest Park, Juniper Valley Park,
Kissena Park, Police Officer Edward Byrne Park
Tennis
Courts
Alley Pond
Park, Astoria Park, Baisley Park, Brookville Park, Crocheron Park, Cunningham
Park, Edgemere Park, Equity Park, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Forest Park,
Juniper Valley Park, Kissena Park, Liberty Park, Michaelis Park, Rochdale Park,
St. Albans Park
Astoria Park,
Liberty Pool, Roy Wilken-Southern Queens Park (indoor pool), Vest Pocket Pool
(fisher)