Baseball and softball fields were built on top of the Department of SanitationРІР‚в„ўs former landfill dump.

Plans called for paths, playgrounds, fences, benches, a wading pool, and a variety of athletic facilties for tennis, paddle tennis, badminton, handball, shuffleboard, ice skating, and bicycling. The land and four adjacent parcels were acquired for park purposes between 19.Р”Р‡rom 1941 to 1942,Р’В squads of Works Progress Administration workers transformed the barren land into one of QueensРІР‚в„ўs most beloved parks. The bog was mined to provide landscaping material for parks and parkways.

Rejecting proposals to use RothsteinРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљPhantom VillageРІР‚Сњ as the site of a municipal airport or as the site of the Queens civic center, government officials chose instead to develop the land for use as a park. Rothstein had purchased land in Middle Village on which he erected 143 flimsy houses with the hope of raising property values. In the early 1930sР’В the City of New York acquired the bog to settle a $225,000 claim in back taxes against the estate of the infamous Arnold Rothstein (1882-1928), who had been accused of fixing the 1919 World Series. Bob holds up the organizationРІР‚в„ўs publication, theР’В Juniper Berry.Р’В SG Juniper Park Civic AssociationР’В President Bob Holden and Christina point out the view of the Empire State Building from Juniper Park. Before the site of Juniper Valley Park was improved for recreational purposes, it was used variously as a farm, a race track, a cemetery, a source for peat moss, the property of a racketeer, and a garbage dump. The swamp and surrounding area were blanketed by a thick forest of Juniper and White Cedar trees. The park takes its name from the Juniper Valley Swamp, which covered an area of about 100 acres from Caldwell Avenue south to Juniper Valley Road. Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village,Р’В Queens is rich in natural, historical, and recreational resources. The rocakbilly guyР’В on a Penelope Avenue house doesnРІР‚в„ўt look like Elvis. South.Р’В The architect of one of the Tudor-style houses here may have playfully inscribed the year of construction, but the initials remain a mystery. Posts usually designate real estate developments, but the one this one signified has long since become part of the neighborhood fabric.Р’В Photos: Bob MuleroР”Вry Harbor Road and Juniper Blvd. An IND route, a combined subway and el route, was planned to serve the Woodside, Maspeth and Middle Village region as part of the IND Second SystemР’В Winfield Spur, but the Depression and World War II ended that idea.

Our tour began at the 63rd Drive IND stationР’В (G, R, V) on Queens Boulevard, that being the closest station to Middle Village. The area added population as cemeteries were built in the area and a network of saloons and hotels was instituted to serve cemetery visitors. By the Civil War era, a small scattering of dwellings as well as a hotel sprung up along the road in this area, deemed to be the midpoint between Williamsburg and Jamaica. Middle Village lies between Maspeth and Forest HillsР’В and was named in the 1830s after its position along Metropolitan Avenue, which was laid out as a toll road between Williamsburg and Jamaica in 1816. Your webmaster discourses on a DeskeyР’В photo: Steve Garza I usually avoidР’В featuring photos of my misbegotten visage but the expression of your webmaster here is priceless as I discourse on the history of the 1960s Donald Deskey slotted lamppost. We were aided by FNY Correspondent Christina, the Queen of Queens, and Bob Holden, President of the Juniper Park Civic Association. April 1, 2007, didnРІР‚в„ўt fool 48 ForgottenFansРІР‚В¦second-most ever on a ForgottenTour (the prize goes to the 56 who turned up for Tour 14Р’В in Dumbo, October 2003)РІР‚В¦who turned up for FNYРІР‚в„ўs jaunt through Middle Village and Juniper Park.

Juniper valley park