It’s just not fair that the Queens park once home to two World’s Fairs, and now to one of the world’s biggest sporting events, is in need of repairs, maintenance and funding from fountains that don’t function to floods that occur periodically.

At least that was the message to officials at an Aug. 13 rally at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, where Queens residents in two languages said they want the city, and even private sources, to step up and invest more in and not ignore the park.

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

Just days before crowds from around the world pour in for the nearby US Open national tennis championships, organized by the United States Tennis Association (USTA), a crowd of more than 150 united not to cheer, but to call for more funding for the park surrounding the tennis center.

Queens residents, community organizers and advocates gathered on Thursday, Aug. 13, near the Queens Theatre in Flushing Meadows Corona Park to get more funding and support for what many say is a chronically underfunded park.

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

Parents, children and families, often wearing colorful clothes, held signs in English and Spanish, saying, “Invest in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,” “Queens Deserves Better,” Basta de Ignorar a Queens,” “Fund Parks Now,” “No More Neglect” and “It Aint Right to Ignore This Historic Site.”

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

The rally, organized by Queens Community House, is part of a continuing call, including from Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, to pour more green into the 897 acres of what many call Queens’ flagship park.

The US Open, held at Flushing Meadows Corona Park since 1978, will take place there at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, with the biggest matches at the Arthur Ashe Stadium from Aug. 23 to Sept. 13.

Winners of the 2025 U.S. Open took home $90 million in prize money, including $5 million each for the men’s and women’s singles winners.

But those at the rally, near dry fountains in chronic need of repair, called for funding to do everything from fix fountains to otherwise improve the aging infrastructure of this jewel of a park in the heart of Queens.

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

They spoke near the 140-foot-tall towering Unisphere, made for the 1964 New York World’s Fair, rising in the distance.

“Flushing Meadows Corona Park is one of Queens’ greatest public assets, but it has not received the sustained investment it deserves,” Queens Community House CEO Ben Thomases said. “This rally is the beginning of a broader community effort to build support for the long-term public and private investment our flagship park needs.”

Queens Community House CEO Ben Thomases speaks at the protest. Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

Rather than only focusing on government, the group said it is working to encourage “residents, civic institutions and public leaders to work together toward a shared vision.” That, however, includes a need for green.

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has both been allocating more funding and seeking more for the park.

Queens Community House, for instance, estimates the park needs $15 million in additional funds annually for maintenance and operations.

“I’ve watched this park change over the years,” said Flor Marina Romero, a longtime Queens resident who has helped with monthly park cleanups. “Our volunteers have made a real difference, but a park this large needs sustained investment and partnership so it can be the place our communities deserve.”

Photo courtesy of Queens Community House

Queens Power, a coalition of more than 40 faith congregations, social service organizations, unions and civic groups, co-sponsored the rally, pointing to the irony of the tennis championships there since the 1970s.

“Flushing Meadows Corona Park is more than a playground for the rich or the sports enthusiast,” Queens Power Co-Chair Rev. Patrick O’Connor said. “It is the backyard for many Queens families. Let’s make it work for everyone.”

Thomases called the park “one of Queens’ greatest public assets” that “has not benefited from the level of investment occurring all around it.”

“We’re tired of the chronic flooding, poor maintenance and aging amenities,” said Richards, who is pushing for more funding. “The days of disinvestment in Flushing Meadows are coming to an end.”

Richards recently rolled out the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Task Force to benefit the city’s fifth biggest park. And Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry has been pushing for more support.

Richards and Thomas-Henry also announced $17.5 million toward renovations and an additional $5 million for 2027 to the Playground for All Children on the Corona side of the park.

Thomas-Henry earlier said she hopes that money “will ensure children of all abilities can continue creating memories together for generations to come.”

While crowds will cheer soon tennis players nearby, at least at this event, everybody gathered to root for the park itself.

“With billions of dollars being invested in major destinations surrounding the park, this is an important moment to ensure that the park itself and the Queens residents who rely on it every day are not left behind,” Thomases said.