Travers Park rendering (Meghan Lalor of NYC Parks/Twitter)
April 22, 2018 By Tara Law
A long-awaited reconstruction project that will merge Travers Park with Staunton Field and the 78th Street Plaza is symbolically underway after a groundbreaking ceremony Friday.
Construction began in March and is slated to be completed in 2019. The project will remove curbs separating the three areas to create a cohesive open space that will merge seamlessly with the neighborhood.
The completed renovation will feature a “great lawn” along 34th Avenue which will be surrounded by flowering trees, benches and game tables.
Different areas of the parks will receive a variety of upgrades. The play area in the park will be expanded and gain new equipment intended for all ages. An asphalt field that can accommodate sports such as kickball, tennis and hopscotch will be installed at Staunton Field, and a new performance space with stadium seating will be installed at the center of the plaza.
As Travers Park is a popular source of recreation in the neighborhood, the construction will be rolled out in stages to avoid closing the park. Renovated areas of the park will become open as they are completed.
Queens officials, including Queens Borough Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski joined Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Council Member Danny Dromm and State Senator Jose Peralta, at Travers Park on Friday for a ceremonial groundbreaking.
(Photo: Office of Jose Peralta/Twitter)
The design process for the project began in Feb. 2014 and was completed a year behind schedule in Nov. 2016. A parks spokesperson said at the time that construction was slated to begin in fall 2017.
The reconstruction was funded by a $3.6 million allocated by Council Member Dromm, $2.5 million from Mayor de Blasio, and an additional $1 million from Queens Borough President Katz.
Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver thanked the community for their patience as they awaited the start of construction.
“The best of our city’s parks integrate with the adjacent communities, without boundaries, flowing from park to street to neighborhood, just as pedestrians do,” Silver said. “The new Travers Park will be a more open and welcoming space for everyone, providing space for play, sports, and relaxation.”
The project is separate from the $2 million Travers Park Tot Lot renovation, which is scheduled to begin this fall and to be completed in 2019. The upgraded play area, which is set aside for children ages two to five, will feature new play equipment, new greenery and additional seating.
Travers Park Schematic Plan Rendering by Queens Post on Scribd
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10 Comments
Should have included a dog run.
To replace the one on 69th St?
Why?
Nypd and the Park police officers should enforce no littering , no smoking, and picking up after your dog laws to keep the park clean.
The Parks dept. should also put ” No Smoking ” signs in different languages so that everyone knows you can not smoke around children.
I only hope that the Ecuadorian volleyball nets are finished because they occupy the whole park for bets and drink alcoholic drinks and children can not play anymore in the park because these people occupy the whole park
Occupy the whole park? Except, of course, for the entire playground dedicated to children.
call your counsel person Danny Dromm and tell them –
Keep the vandals, gangs , loud music and dogs from pooping everywhere and we’ll have a good looking park for the children
You are generalizing, this is plain racism and im not ecuadorian
Loving it!