The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation Announce Little Bay Park

The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation announces that ground will be broken on Little Bay Park next week. The $5.04-million project will create a new public restroom and an expanded parking lot in Little Bay Park.

"Next week's groundbreaking will mark the much-anticipated start of construction at Little Bay Park, as well as the end of our planning process for this complex coastal project" said Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski. "I would like to thank our partners at the local, state and federal levels for funding this project, and the work that they have done to get this project approved."

The completed project will include a new public restroom and an expanded 224-car parking lot, with bioswales that will clean and absorb runoff, reducing the burden on the area's stormwater drains. As part of this project, new trees and shrubs will be planted and new utilities will be brought in. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2014. Portable toilets will remain on site until the completion of construction.

This project is funded with $5.04 million - including $2.306 million allocated by Mayor Bloomberg, $2.016 million in Federal transportation grants through the NYS Department of Transportation, and $720,000 allocated by the City Council. Due to the transportation funding used, this project required review by the NYS Department of Transportation, and because of the park's location on a coastal wetlands site, approval by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and NYC Department of Environmental Protection. In addition, nearby evidence of prior archeological significance required additional review and approval by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO).

The shores of Little Bay were originally inhabited by the Mantinecock tribe. In 1644, King Charles I of England gave 16,000 acres of land to his countryman William Lawrence. The grant, which included today's Bayside, stimulated European settlement in the area. In 1683, when the Crown organized the New York colony into ten separate counties, the land became part of Queens County, which encompassed both present-day Queens and Nassau Counties.

The Parks Department acquired Little Bay Park in September of 1950. Previously known as Clearview Park, the property was renamed to Little Bay Park in 1973. In 2010, a new dog run was added to Little Bay Park, thanks to $500,000 allocated by the City Council.