{"id":321343,"date":"2026-08-14T15:18:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/321343\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T15:18:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T15:18:13","slug":"queens-residents-protest-for-much-needed-repairs-at-flushing-meadows-corona-park-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/321343\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens residents protest for much-needed repairs at Flushing Meadows Corona Park \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s just not fair that the Queens park once home to two World\u2019s Fairs, and now to one of the world\u2019s biggest sporting events, is in need of repairs, maintenance and funding<\/a> from fountains that don\u2019t function to floods that occur periodically.<\/p>\n

At least that was the message to officials at an Aug. 13 rally at Flushing Meadows Corona Park<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

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<\/a> (USTA), a crowd of more than 150 united not to cheer, but to call for more funding for the park surrounding the tennis center.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

Parents, children and families, often wearing colorful clothes, held signs in English and Spanish, saying, \u201cInvest in Flushing Meadows Corona Park,\u201d \u201cQueens Deserves Better,\u201d Basta de Ignorar a Queens,\u201d \u201cFund Parks Now,\u201d \u201cNo More Neglect\u201d and \u201cIt Aint Right to Ignore This Historic Site.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

The rally, organized by Queens Community House<\/a>, 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\u2019 flagship park.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Winners of the 2025 U.S. Open took home $90 million in prize money, including $5 million each for the men\u2019s and women\u2019s singles winners.\n<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

They spoke near the 140-foot-tall towering Unisphere, made for the 1964 New York World\u2019s Fair, rising in the distance.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlushing Meadows Corona Park is one of Queens\u2019 greatest public assets, but it has not received the sustained investment it deserves,\u201d Queens Community House CEO Ben Thomases said. \u201cThis rally is the beginning of a broader community effort to build support for the long-term public and private investment our flagship park needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Queens Community House CEO Ben Thomases speaks at the protest. Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

Rather than only focusing on government, the group said it is working to encourage \u201cresidents, civic institutions and public leaders to work together toward a shared vision.\u201d That, however, includes a need for green.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards has both been allocating more funding and seeking more for the park.<\/p>\n

Queens Community House, for instance, estimates the park needs $15 million in additional funds annually for maintenance and operations.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve watched this park change over the years,\u201d said Flor Marina Romero, a longtime Queens resident who has helped with monthly park cleanups. \u201cOur 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Photo courtesy of Queens Community House<\/p>\n

Queens Power<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFlushing Meadows Corona Park is more than a playground for the rich or the sports enthusiast,\u201d Queens Power Co-Chair Rev. Patrick O\u2019Connor said. \u201cIt is the backyard for many Queens families. Let\u2019s make it work for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomases called the park \u201cone of Queens\u2019 greatest public assets\u201d that \u201chas not benefited from the level of investment occurring all around it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re tired of the chronic flooding, poor maintenance and aging amenities,\u201d said Richards, who is pushing for more funding. \u201cThe days of disinvestment in Flushing Meadows are coming to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Richards recently rolled out the Flushing Meadows Corona Park Task Force to benefit the city\u2019s fifth biggest park. And Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry has been pushing for more support.\n<\/p>\n

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.\n<\/p>\n

Thomas-Henry earlier said she hopes that money \u201cwill ensure children of all abilities can continue creating memories together for generations to come.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

While crowds will cheer soon tennis players nearby, at least at this event, everybody gathered to root for the park itself.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 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,\u201d Thomases said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s just not fair that the Queens park once home to two World\u2019s Fairs, and now to one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321344,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[2100,9,24,63,6986,122,2938,124,123],"class_list":["post-321343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-flushing-meadows-corona-park","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-protest","tag-queens","tag-queens-community-house","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}