Plumber removed standing water earlier this week
Aug. 6, 2015 By Jackie Strawbridge
Reconstruction is an option for a waterlogged Astoria playground, according to the Parks Department.
Woodtree Playground, located on 20th Avenue between 37th and 38th Streets, has been suffering this summer from sprawling, stagnant puddles. Some of these puddles collect near Woodtree’s play equipment, while others stretch over its three basketball courts.
“It’s very dirty,” said Ola Shano, who comes to Woodtree with her 16-month-old son. “Think of all the things that are already on the ground, and then the water mixes in.”
“It causes inconvenience while you want to play [basketball],” said Anthony Hazoury, who visits the playground with a child he takes care of. “You don’t [want to] have to worry about your basketball being wet, and then having to sit out.”
According to the Parks Department, poor drainage is at the root of the problem.
When asked about the situation, Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski said she believes Woodtree Playground “could benefit from a capital restoration,” a long-term solution that would require funding and months of design and planning.
A Parks spokesperson later elaborated that the agency is actively seeking funding for such a project.
Interim measures, meanwhile, address the puddles on a temporary and sporadic basis.
The Parks Department dispatched a team of in-house plumbers this week to remove standing water at the playground.
Parks estimates that plumbers’ last visit to the playground was November 2014.
The agency also has a truck that addresses stagnant water at parks. However, Lewandowski noted that because it serves locations Citywide, its visits to individual parks and playgrounds are infrequent.
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2 Comments
Wrong post 😉 but anyway …. The profit margin higher to build many units the place of one house . But it’s not easy to renovate these homes and your taking about $10,000 minimum to redo a kitchen let alone all the plumbing and baths. The people living their entire life in these homes don’t have that money . It’s the people moving in that have the money so choose your poison . Also a lot of the character was stripped out of these houses when people remodeled in the 1970s
Thats the problem, people think its expensive to fix old homes but its cheaper than knocking down and building new! Have you ever tried?? Just an easy solution and usually under all the junk materials lies the old materials like clapboard that jus might need a few replacements and waterproof paint! Queens needs to think outside its square box!