Overhaul Of Whitey Ford Field Expected To Start By August

ASTORIA, QUEENS -- The Astoria baseball field named after one Yankee pitching legend is a step closer to getting the overhaul advocates say it so desperately needs.

Whitey Ford Field is slated to undergo a $2 million renovation in August 2019, which will include everything from a brand new dugout to fixing ruts and holes on the field that players complained once made it a hazard to run on.

Those updates and more were included in the NYC Department of Parks and Recreations' renovation plans for the field, which members of Queens Community Board 1 approved unanimously at its board meeting Tuesday evening.

"It’s been in huge disrepair for 30 years or more," said Richard Khuzami, co-chair of the board's parks committee. "Right now its in really bad shape. There are ruts and holes and it really needs a lot of work."

Whitey Ford Field - named after the famous Yankee pitcher in 2000 and previously known as Hellgate Field - received $2 million for renovations from Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria) and Borough President Melinda Katz in June.

That money will go toward updates to the field itself, including a natural grass outfield with regraded turf on the pitchers' mound, to prevent flooding and fix hazardous holes that often caused players to trip, according to plans presented by the NYC Parks Department.The plan also includes new bleachers on both sides of the field, a new dugout, picnic and gaming tables, a box for equipment storage, a new water fountain and wooden fencing around the inner field.

Shaded trees will be planted to line the outfield, along with a path slated to be built near the Hallets Point Peninsula waterfront at the back of the ball field. A new mesh fence will also replace the chain link fence that currently encases the field, according to the plan.

As a condition of its approval, the community board also requested the parks department add bicycle racks to its plan for the field.

"We hope we're going to get the bike racks - We asked for them," Khuzami said.

Khuzami said the board's parks committee also told the city they eventually hoped to get a comfort station, scoreboard and Whitey Ford plaque for the field.

"Those were not a part of this particular plan, but we just wanted to make the (NYC) parks department aware that we would like them as soon as possible," he said.

The field's $2 million revamp is slated to wrap up by Fall 2020, Khuzami said.

Friends of Whitey Ford, a group dedicated to the field's upkeep and repairs, is also planning a handful of community outreach and fundraising events for the coming year to draw attention to to the park and raise funds for future projects, said Neil Herdan. He co-chairs the volunteer group with Ford's granddaughter, Blair Clancy.

"There’s a lot of things we’re going to do to make this what we think now will be the hit park in Astoria," Herdan said. "We want to keep the momentum going."

Lead photo via Google Maps.