Homeowners, Businesses, Nonprofits and Parks Cited as Being Neglected After Sandy
(Queens, NY) After receiving numerous complaints about Charles Park from Howard Beach residents over the past four months, NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. is urging steerage of a portion of the roughly $30 billion in federal disaster recovery aid New York State now holds post-Sandy, to quickly repair and restore Charles Park, along with the shoreline and other parks in the senator’s district. Much of the area is Jamaica Bay and Gateway National Recreation Area, under the domain of the National Parks Service.
The Friends of Charles Park and local residents who use the park’s baseball field, tennis courts and pathways have been reporting for months that the storm’s eight-foot water surge left the park in a deplorable condition: a boat that washed up in January still has not been picked up; cars pulled out by the tide to sit on the pathways are now gone, but trash, seaweed and debris still litter the area. Numerous trees were destroyed and some are still in a precarious, dangerous situation. Graffiti and trash are rampant throughout the park, especially noticeable in the tennis courts, which were just redone a few years ago.
The NYC Parks Department does not have jurisdiction nor responsibility for removing trash and graffiti in Charles Park, since the park is part of Gateway National Recreation Area under the authority of the National Parks Service.
Noted Addabbo, “Charles Park should be a jewel in Howard Beach, offering young and old waterside views and shady spots to picnic, walk and jog, enjoy tennis or play baseball. It seems the National Park Service has been slow to respond to the tax-paying and hard-hit Howard Beach residents. They’re just asking for the restoration of their only green space with a portion of the federal aid now in hand.” Addabbo stated that the park is a site within the National Gateway area that has long been neglected. “While repairing homes and businesses in the community that were damaged by Sandy is our first priority, what better use of federal funds, provided by taxpayers’ money, could there be after a devastating hurricane than getting our shoreline and parkland under reconstruction for all to enjoy? Let’s get some of that money soon to begin fixing up our forgotten Charles Park,” Addabbo concluded.
Addabbo, a member of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force on Hurricane Sandy Recovery, has advocated that the federal relief funds should come with no conditions or strings attached, so that the relief can get to the homeowners, businesses, non-profits, religious sites and parks as soon as possible.
