Elevated tracks at Queens Plaza, NYC - repainting begins
The groundbreaking ceremony for Queens Plaza was hot, the traffic non-stop and the shade of the historic oak trees a relief.
Light Projects has been working on the final design for this project for more than two years and it was gratifying to visit the site not to inventory columns and overpasses or to argue the qualities of sodium or metal halide sources, but to launch the installation of our hard won approvals from the agencies involved; New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, Department of City Planning, Department of Transportation, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Mayor’s Office.
The Queens Plaza terrain is rugged; pure urban — noisy traffic, city-dirt, elevated train tracks, a study in zig-zag, confusing cross-walks and high-contrast shadow and light.
The renovation project includes new street alignments, landscaping, a bike path, public art, street and landscape lighting and most importantly a verdant JFK Park – in a former parking lot.
Robert Lieber (Mayor’s Office), Amanda Burden (Department of City Planning), Helen Marshall (Queen’s Borough President), Adrian Benepe (Department of Parks and Recreation), and Gail Barron (Long Island City Business Improvement District) spoke to the crowd about the work that had gone into making the project a reality. They spoke of improved lighting (three mentions) and pedestrian and traffic-friendly streets and the new landscaping.
The design team includes Wallace Roberts Todd (WRT), Langan Engineering, Marpillero Pollak Architects, Eng- Wong Taub Traffic Engineers, Michael Singer, Artist and Leni Schwendinger Light Projects LTD.