For the first time in years, the city is opening up the gates to the Willow Lake Preserve in Flushing Meadows Corona Park for a few days a week from this side of the park. The Parks Department just completed the first phase of a project to remove invasive plants and make the site more accessible to visitors. The site has a long way to go. (Photos: Daniel Avila/ NYC Departman of Parks)
Queens
Nature lovers can now venture into the Willow Lake Preserve in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park and explore it on their own.
For the first time in years, the city is throwing open the ornate gates to the area — a haven for bird watchers — on Saturdays and Sundays starting this weekend, according to the New York Daily News.
Previously, visitors could only access the marshy wetlands refuge on guided tours with Urban Park Rangers.
The gates will remain closed during weekdays.
Disgraceful. Access Denied. A few years ago the Parks Department began permanently closing the pathway for pedestrians into Willow Lake in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park from this side of the park. It will now be open for only two days a week.
Officials said they kept portions of the park shuttered to ensure that the new plantings would grow, but Melnick noted the area was always accessible through Jewel Ave.
Even with the stepping stones and wood walkways, visitors should remember to wear sturdy shoes for the trek. The city has tried to keep the area as comfortable as possible for the resident wildlife, so there’s no concrete walking path.
Willow Lake was designed as a refuge, one of two manmade lakes built for the 1939-40 World’s Fair; adjacent Meadow Lake was constructed for boating and the long-gone aquacade.
Keeping the walkway from becoming overgrown requires constant trimming of plants, Melnick said. “Nature wants to reclaim what is hers,” she said. “It takes a lot of work to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
For the first time in years, the city is opening up the gates to the Willow Lake Preserve in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The Parks Department just completed the first phase of a project to remove invasive plants and make the site more accessible to visitors.
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New York Daily News - May 31, 2013 - By Lisa L. Colangelo
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