City Starts Planning Upgrades For LIC's Queensbridge Baby Park

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation is putting together plans to upgrade the stripe of green space known as Queensbridge Baby Park.

More than a hundred people joined the agency's virtual discussion Thursday night to share ideas for how to best revamp the park.

Eileen Munsch, a project planner for NYC Parks, said the park used to have such amenities as basketball courts, swings and ample seating, but that the space has since fallen into disrepair. All that remains are a series of handball courts and a greenway for pedestrians and cyclists.

“Current amenities in Queensbridge Baby Park may not be reaching everybody that lives here, which underscores the importance of this capital project,” Munsch said. “There is a need for quality open space in this neighborhood.”

Many attendees shared a desire for the composting facility Big Reuse, which is getting evicted from its nearby space under the Queensboro Bridge, to be able to relocate to Queensbridge Baby Park. The nonprofit has until June to find a new space.

Others mentioned a petition to build a skate park.

One Queensbridge Houses resident mentioned that the meeting included few attendees from the public housing complex, which is right next to the park. He suggested that the parks department set up a meeting just for children living in Queensbridge to ask what they would like to see.

Queensbridge is home to an estimated 7,000 residents, according to city data.

Check out the parks department's full presentation on Queensbridge Baby Park below, and submit ideas on the NYC Parks website here.