By Joe Anuta
Lost Battalion Park in Rego Park will be expanding its boundaries, thanks to a land swap between the city and a developer.
An oddly shaped parking lot and one end of the park currently fit together like puzzle pieces, but according to state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), the swap deal will make both the parking and park easier to use.
“Everybody benefits,” she said. “The developer benefits, the city benefits and the developer is going to do the improvements.”
The park is at 93-29 Queens Blvd., and with the new deal would stretch all the way from Queens Boulevard to Junction Boulevard.
A vast parking lot now sits beside the park and near the back it snakes around and encompasses the entire greenspace.
The developer, Vornado Realty Trust, owns part of the huge parking lot, while the city owns another.
In the swap, the city will give Vornado a piece of the lot that is near the park and Vornado will trade the portion of the asphalt that wraps around the back of the park. That way, both the greenspace and the parking lot will become more normally shaped.
“This is literally a win-win,” Stavisky said. “It was an inch-for-inch trade.”
Vornado owns Rego Park Center, the shopping center at Junction Boulevard and 62nd Drive, and has previously expressed interest in building a multi-use facility on the lot.
The building would include retail and residential spaces, according to Stavisky.
Vornado has said in the past it would not build anything for years and would conduct community impact studies to ensure parking and traffic do not become a problem for the neighborhood.
Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.
