Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Waterfront Alliance proposes transforming Flushing Creek and Meadow Lake to address flooding in the park.
The Issue
Receiving much of the stormwater from surrounding neighborhoods and highways, Flushing Meadows Corona Park is one of the most frequently flooded parks in New York City. Climate change will compound threats to the park from sea level rise and increased rainfall. Without action, much of the park will become inaccessible after it rains.
Our Approach
Waterfront Alliance, in partnership with NYC Parks, released a resilience study identifying two visionary ways to address flooding in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
Waterfront Alliance proposes daylighting Flushing Creek and reshaping the edges of Meadow Lake.
Daylight Flushing Creek
Today, much of the creek is buried in underground pipes. We propose daylighting the creek—literally bringing the water back to the surface—to create a free-flowing creek. The project would create floodable wetlands that address nearby flooding and create habitat space by giving water a place to go.
Reshape Meadow Lake
The shoreline and path around Meadow Lake often flood. We propose reshaping the lake so it can hold more water. This would also allow marsh and habitat restoration, improve water quality, and raise pathways to make it easier to move around the lake.
The goal of both projects is to enable the creek and lake to hold more water so that soccer fields, lawns, and pathways in the park drain more quickly and reduce the number of days where parts of the park are too wet to use. The flooding these ideas would address is already happening today but will get worse with the climate crisis.
The designs have been provided to NYC Parks and other partnering agencies as recommendations for future capital projects. Waterfront Alliance does not have the funds or jurisdiction to proceed with construction but will continue to advocate for these projects.
Together, we are advancing Flushing Meadows Corona Park’s journey toward climate resilience. By mobilizing and advocating collectively, the community can help carry the vision forward and turn Flushing Meadows Corona Park into a national model for climate resilience and environmental justice.
Join the FMCP Climate Study Newsletter to learn project updates and stay informed.
Have questions about Flushing Meadows Corona Park: A Hub for Climate Resilience or want to find out how you can support making this vision a reality? Email [email protected] for more information.
The Past, Present, and Future of Wetlands in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Within relatively recent environmental history, Flushing Meadows Corona Park was once rife with expansive tidal wetlands where diverse communities of native species fed, nested, and cohabitated. Today, freshwater marsh still exists within the park, particularly along the south shore of Willow Lake. While Flushing Meadows Corona Park hosts a multitude of recreational and family-oriented activities including soccer, mini golf, the Queens Museum, and kayaking, there is substantial potential for ecological improvement.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park History: The Tale of Two World’s Fairs
One of the largest and most iconic parks in New York City, Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP) was not always the vibrant park it is today. From rich tidal wetlands to dumping grounds, the landscape of FMCP has significantly evolved over the last three centuries. The vision for a park came along when NYC Park Commissioner Robert Moses set his sights on the dumping ground as potential space to expand his legacy and create the namesake “Robert Moses Park”. To undergo this major and costly transformation, Moses leveraged not one, but two World’s Fairs.
A plan to prevent flooding in Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Check out our chief waterfront design officer, Joseph Sutkowi, in a recent interview with Spectrum News NY1! Presenting on the newly completed Flushing Meadows Corona Park Resiliency Study, this report is a summary of two years of work that purposes to daylight, or uncover, Flushing creek and reshape Meadow Lake. Both of these projects would address chronic flooding problems that impact the park, including the soccer fields and pathways.
