Kissena Park

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kissena Park
A view from the eastern end of the park overlooking the largest aspect of the park, the pond.
Type	public park
Location	Flushing, New York
Coordinates	40°44′42″N 73°48′17″W / 40.745, -73.80472Coordinates: 40°44′42″N 73°48′17″W / 40.745, -73.80472
Size	234.762 acres (95.005 ha)
Operated by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation

Kissena Park is a large park located in the neighborhood of Flushing in the New York City borough of Queens, along Kissena Creek which formerly flowed into the Flushing River. It is bordered on the west by Kissena Boulevard; on the north by Rose, Oak, Underhill, and Lithonia Avenues; on the east by Fresh Meadow Lane; and on the south by Booth Memorial Avenue. Within its boundaries it contains a small lake, Kissena Lake, surrounded by playgrounds; a velodrome on the south side for speed bicycling; and a number of soccer fields, tennis courts, and baseball fields.

Kissena Park is the centerpiece of the Kissena Corridor Park, a more or less continuous chain of parks several miles long, and part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway. Bicycle paths connect the park westward to Main Street. The former Long Island Motor Parkway, now a bike path, connects through Cunningham Park to Alley Pond Park. Thanks in part to the Corridor, Kissena Park is a frequented location for bicyclists, joggers, walkers, and runners. It was recently restored, mostly in 2004.

The continuous string of parks in the area is due to its use as railroad right-of-way a century ago. A raised nature trail running through Kissena Park was originally the railroad bed of The A.T. Stewart Line (later renamed the "White Line," and then the Creedmore branch of the Long Island Rail Road) to Garden City.

[edit] Naming

Although the Chippewa Native Americans were not from the northeast, Samuel Parsons used their word for the phrase "it is cold" (Kissena) to name the large lake on his land. When the park was dedicated in 1908 it took the name as well, as did Kissena Boulevard (which was, until that point, named Jamaica Avenue).^[1]