Gantry Plaza State Park (Photo: QueensPost)
March 26, 2019 By Christian Murray
A Long Island City parks group was awarded a $17,000 state grant to replace the hammocks in Gantry Plaza State Park and expand its gardening program.
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, a non-profit that aims to enhance the quality of Long Island City’s waterfront parks, was awarded the grant from the Environmental Protection Fund’s Park and Trail Partnership Program.
The grant, announced on March 19, was one of 22 awards granted by the EPF to non-profit parks groups across the state. The Conservancy was the only New York City-based group to be a recipient.
The Conservancy will be using the funds to replace the hammocks in time for summer and expand its all-volunteer gardening program.
Rob Basch, president of the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, said the organization’s gardening program is vital to maintaining Gantry Plaza State Park, since the state parks department does not provide a dedicated gardener. The group focuses less on Hunters Point South Park, since the city provides two gardeners.
“We need as many people as possible to come out to help our gardening efforts,” Basch said, who added that the group meets every second Saturday from May through October. He said about 20 people typically turn up, with each session going from 10 a.m. to noon.
Basch said that he plans to reach out to corporate groups to help with gardening during the week. He said that it could be part of a corporate team-building exercise.
Basch said the conservancy is looking forward to replacing the hammocks, which are showing their age.
“We are thankful to the Parks and Trail Partnership Program,” Basch said. “Long Island City has been the fastest growing community in the country and this is reflected in the increase of park goers to Gantry Plaza State Park. This grant will allow us to replace damaged and worn hammocks in the park.”
For more information on the Conservancy, please click here.
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21 Comments
So since the pandemic hit they’ve taken the hammocks down which is a a logical action. My problem is that when I bring my own private hammock to set up the park workers tell me I must take it down. Flushing park no problem, Prospect park no problem. Gantry oh no you cant do that here. Garbage
I’ve been trying to sit on those hammocks for YEARS! Whenever they’re there, I try but they’re ALWAYS TAKEN. Even when I take a day off work, they’re taken. What a waste….
A waste because someone else is enjoying it? Sounds like it’s quite the opposite—used to its fullest!
Just what we needed. Can’t wait to get busy in a hammock. Anyone interested can meet up after sunset. I’ll be standing by a tree with a smile on my face with and my hands in my pockets. Yee..haw!
$500 for the hammocks and $16,500 for kickbacks. All so that the homeless can have a comfy new place to shoot up and nod off.
Welcome to NYC.
I’m at this park all the time. Have NEVER seen homeless shooting up.
Instead of hammocks why don’t they try improving the lighting situation down around the Pepsi Cola sign and along the boat basin. All those lights are out and I’ve reported it a fair amount of times to the park and recs dept and they always tell me “we don’t do lights” I have emailed 311 and they also have replied that they have determined that the issue is out of its jurisdiction and closed my request. So who the hell is responsible? It’s pitch black at night all along that area along the basin and near the ferry area and perfect for the valet guys to do their dealings at the end of the street where they put all cars in the lot. All those lights are out and they have been for a while. They threw a generator there to “fix the issue” near the area that actually has the most lighting but the Pepsi sign which was a brilliant move. Who needs hammocks when we need to fix lighting? The parks department is one of the worst I’ve ever seen also.
Pepsi Cola area is State Park not City Park, 311 will be little help as it is a City service. Try contacting State Parks directly. Lights in City Parks are maintained by NYC DOT.
Please don’t tell me homeless will “enjoy” these hammocks. Please, please don’t tell me…
I bet 150% they will. But Mr. JVB is alright with this.
Of course! JVB will be laying down on one those new hammocks for sure…. breaking them in for his new photo-op.
$17k to replace hammocks…that were only put in a couple years ago to begin with?
//mind explodes
awarded a $17,000 state grant to replace the hammocks in Gantry Plaza State Park and expand its gardening program.
Great, how about they put in some actual permanent barricades against the water instead of those portable metal/ orange plastic fencing? It’s unsightly, not to mention pretty dangerous
What the waterfront needed was a NYC Park Department Recreation Center with a Ice Skating Rink and Swimming Pool — instead of that Concrete Cube of a Library $50 Million in cost overuns and several years behind rammed down our throats by Jimmy Van Bramer. A RecreationCenter would have been great for this area and LIC especially with the lack recreation space. You want to read a book download it on your Amazon Kindle, a total waste of Tax Payer dollars for this Library on the waterfront. Flusing Meadows park has World Ice Arena — this would would have worked on the LIC Water Front.
Because everyone owns a kindle…I’ve never seen anyone be so against a library
Time to move to Flushing, Jimmy.
$47 million went to Bramer’s friends’ pockets. He is the most corrupt politician in Queens.
Why do hammocks cost 17,000 ?!?
If you read the article, it says 2x, that they were awarded a $17,000 state grant to replace the hammocks in Gantry Plaza State Park AND expand its gardening program.
Two hours once weekly to “garden?” This group is the non-profit from hell, as they suck money from pro-social groups to self-enrich, promote litter producing programs so that the Coffeed-Landing beer/wine hall gets customers. Parks Department personnel get to clean up.
Better lighting, as above: yes. Repair of the crumbling waterfront structures: yes.
A thousand-2,000 for hammocks: yes. Get this damned conservancy off the Parks back.