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Weeping Beech Park work to begin in January

Weeping Beech Park work to begin in January
By Stephen Stirling

The city Parks Department said it could begin work to revamp Flushing’s Weeping Beech Park as early as January 2010 after receiving approval from Community Board 7 last week.

On April 27, the board gave its stamp of approval to an $852,000 plan that will completely restructure the northern portion of the park. The project, which will take about nine months to complete, will create green space, including a field for tai chi, add lighting and replace asphalt with permeable and rubber concrete to foster the growth of plants and trees.

“What we would really like to do is green up the park. When it was built, it was a Robert Moses park, so there’s a lot of asphalt,” said Parks Department Queens Team Leader Kevin Quinn.

Quinn said the city agency will begin the bidding process for the work on the park as early as this fall, which would enable construction to begin in the winter of 2010. The northern portion of the park, which houses historic Kingsland Homestead and the Bowne House on its property, would be closed during construction. Weeping Beech Park is located near the corner of 37th Avenue and Parsons Boulevard.

The reconfiguration will eliminate basketball and handball courts currently at the park, which irked some board members, who contended teenagers who use the courts will have nowhere to go.

One basketball player who frequents the park said last Thursday he was disappointed, but it was not the end of the world.

“I’ve been playing here since I was a kid,” said Terrell Daniels, 17. “I mean, it’s not a crazy big deal. I can go to some of the other courts around here, there’s a bunch of them, but it still sucks.”

CB 7 District Manager Marilyn Bitterman said the courts were creating a noise problem for an apartment building that overlooks the park.

“Our office was inundated with complaints,” Bitterman said. “At 11, 12 or 2 a.m., you don’t want to hear basketball in your backyard. We’re only adhering to the complaints of the community.”

Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at [email protected] or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.