Revamp Of LIC's Queensbridge Baby Park Is Unveiled, Amid Some Grumbles

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — An overgrown, underused stripe of green space under the Queensboro Bridge will soon be reborn as a small public park, as the city unveiled its final design this week after months of planning.

The narrow site runs between the Queensboro Bridge and the NYCHA Queensbridge Houses, and now consists mostly of a few handball courts and parking for city vehicles. Early last year, the city began planning major upgrades to the mini-park after securing millions of dollars in funding.

Now, the Parks Department has unveiled a final design after a series of public meetings revealed a desire for more green space, seating and gathering places. Parks representatives presented the latest plans to Community Board 1 on Monday.

Focusing on the western end of the park, which abuts Vernon Boulevard and faces the much larger Queensbridge Park, the new project will build two grassy lawns and a pair of paved plazas on what is currently a fenced-off maintenance yard owned by the Parks Department.

It will also add trees and other plantings, plus benches, drinking fountains, ping-pong tables and tables for games like chess and checkers, Parks architect Frank Varro told the board during Monday's presentation. The project will cost about $6 million.

Though the site is constrained by utility infrastructure that runs underground, designers were able to make some changes in response to feedback they received at a previous CB1 presentation in May, such as enlarging the lawns and moving some features further south, so they could be shaded by the Queensboro Bridge during the summertime.

"That was a way for us to really use that bridge to our advantage to get some nice shade," Varro said.

"Dismissing the residents of Queensbridge"

Several board members reacted warmly to the design, praising its changes in response to feedback. Others, however, raised concerns about community outreach — Corinne Woods-Haynes, a board member and president of the Queensbridge Houses Tenant Association, said many of her neighbors remained unaware that the park was being redesigned.

"They don’t know about this project," she said. "Are we dismissing the residents of Queensbridge from the ability to have a voice?"

Parks representatives defended their outreach, pointing to the previous community board meetings and fliers that had been posted around Queensbridge Houses. But they agreed to share their plans more directly with Queensbridge tenants, and the Parks Department was expected to meet with residents on Wednesday, CB1 district manager Florence Koulouris told Patch.

Also at issue was the status of Big Reuse, a composting group that occupies a next-door site under the bridge, and which has been facing eviction from the Parks Department since 2020. A Parks representative said the drop-off site may be relocated to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, but the organization's leader told Patch on Wednesday that they are still fighting to remain at Queensbridge.

"The whole community, including elected officials and community boards are demanding we stay," Big Reuse executive director Justin Green said in an email.

Some residents who spoke on Monday also suggested changing the park's name — the "baby" moniker, intended to denote its small size compared to nearby Queensbridge Park, has caused some to believe the park is reserved for infants. In response, city staffers said residents could initiate the formal process for renaming the park after a longtime resident or community leader.

Community Board 1's parks committee ultimately passed a resolution in support of the city's design — but stipulating that planners consult Queensbridge Houses teants and consider adding painted features like hopscotch and skully to the future paved plazas.

Officials did not say when the renovations might begin. A separate project that will renovate Queensbridge Baby Park's handball courts is also funded, but has not yet begun construction, according to the Parks Department's website.

Related coverage:

• City Starts Planning Upgrades For LIC's Queensbridge Baby Park
• LIC Composting Site Fights Looming Eviction By Parks Department