Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. can cite chapter and verse on the history and features that he says makes Flushing Meadows Corona Park so special.

Last Thursday, he proclaimed himself tired of how the home of two World’s Fairs, a fledgling United Nations, world-class sporting events and memories for generations of families and children remains in a chronic state of neglect from cracked pavement to incessant flooding.

Richards formally announced the formation of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Task Force. It includes elected officials, government agencies and organizations in or connected to FMCP.

He also said FMCP serves as the primary park for many, many neighborhoods in Queens, and that funding for infrastructure and personnel is essential.

The press conference took place at the Playground for All Children, located inside the park in Corona [see separate story in some editions or at qchron.com].

“I spent my childhood in this park,” said Richards. “I’m 43 years old and not once in my lifetime has this park been meaningfully invested in.”

The task force’s goal is to secure and leverage greatly increased public and private investment in the park.

Richards places the floor at $100 million.

“There’s no reason this park can’t receive the love that Central Park does,” Richards said. “In fact, this is larger than Central Park. During the summer it is the center of the sports and entertainment universe. Tens of thousands flock here every summer for what? Governor’s Ball.

“Hundreds of thousands of tennis fans come here every year for the US Open, every August and September. Millions flock to Citi Field every season, even seasons like this one.”

He then mentioned the raves FMCP received from international visitors during the World Cup.

“If that’s true, why do we continue to shortchange this park?” Richards asked.

Richards co-chairs the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Task Force with Mike Luba, a partner in Tiebreaker Productions, the longtime lead Forest Hills Stadium concert series promoter.

The roster also includes:

• the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park;

• the Center for an Urban Future

• Community Boards 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8;

• Councilwoman Shanel Thomas-Henry (D-Corona) and Councilman Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights);

• the Governor’s Ball;

• the NYPD and the city Departments of Design and Construction, Environmental Protection, Parks and Recreation and Transportation;

• the Mayor’s Office of Mass Engagement

• the Waterfront Alliance;

• the Queens Botanical Garden; and

• FMCP fixtures the New York Hall of Science, Queens Night Market, Queens Theatre, Queens Zoo and United States Tennis Association.

“I’m speaking with Mayor Mamdani on this,” Richards said. “I’m taking a plane or a train to Washington, DC, to make sure that this park gets the TLC that it deserves. We need everybody who benefits from this park to be invested in its success.”

Thomas-Henry concurred.

“As someone who grew up here, Flushing Meadows Corona Park has always been more than a green place for me,” she said. “It’s a place where memories are made and generations come together. We want to assure that our park will receive the same commitment that our community has invested in it for decades.”

Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Corona) recalled riding her bicycle around the Unisphere as a child, and said the park is not what it once was. Even recently, “We had people in leadership in the mayoralty and in the Council who did not care about the park,” she said. “We will assure that this park is the one Queens deserves.”

Richards has similar memories.

The borough president said his family would visit the park and picnic by the Unisphere with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

“That’s what we did on weekends,” he said. “We didn’t have a backyard.”

Anthony Sama, executive director of the Alliance for Flushing Meadows Corona Park, said his members are proud to help support the park. But he said the task force will not be enough.

“There is so much work to do in this park,” he said.

Richards said he hopes the task force will not have to exist long-term. “Task forces are not here to be here forever,” he said.

The borough president said he hopes a lot of park maintenance problems, for example, can be fixed by greater communication and cooperation among city agencies.

He cited a recent instance in which the city Department of Environmental Protection cleaned out FMCP storm drains in advance of a major storm.

Areas that traditionally flooded did not.

“Just through interagency conversations there were things that are getting corrected in the park,” Richards said.

“We’re going to step up,” Richards said. “Everybody’s got to step up. We will end this era of disinvestment in our backyard.”