Travers Park
Encyclopedia
Travers Park is a 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) community park and playground in Jackson Heights, Queens
, New York
. It is located between 77th and 78th Streets, on the north side of 34th Avenue. Every Sunday from May through November it is host to a farmer's market that is part of the Greenmarket program operated by the New York City Council on the Environment.
Since 2004, it has been home to Summer Sundays in the Park, a performance series that features a wide range of music, both in style and ethnicity. The series includes a musical produced by Theater for the New City
, and a show by the Swedish Cottage Marionettes, based in Central Park. The series is sponsored by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, its committee, Friends of Travers Park, and beginning in 2008, the Queens Community House. It will be funded in 2009 largely through grants from the Queens Council on the Arts, which had provided funding for several of the earlier editions.
The park underwent a major renovation in the mid-1990s, vastly improving what had been a badly neglected playground. A series of green planting areas were created through the northern half of the park that still flourish today. Many of the shrubs, perennials and fencing protecting them are the work of Friends of Travers Park, which continues to maintain the plantings and provides community input to the New York City Parks Department.
Travers Park is a heavily used park. It is located in City Council District 25, which ranks 50th out of 51 Council Districts in the city in terms of park space, according to the non-profit group New Yorkers for Parks. The district that ranks last is District 4 in Manhattan, New Yorkers for Parks reports. That district, however, runs up Manhattan's East Side and for a considerable stretch borders Fifth Avenue, just across the street from Central Park.
On a sunny spring or summer day it's not unusual to see multiple activities occurring on the asphalt athletic area, such as biycle riding, cricket
, baseball
, softball
, soccer, tennis
, and basketball
. There is also a handball
and a full-court basketball court. There is a place for toddlers, a section for a few waterworks and then a section for all the games. Due to the hardness of the surface people get injured; for this reason it is not an ideal sports venue, but as with many things in New York City, its parkgoers make do.
A movement to expand the park has grown starting in 2007. Related to this effort was the closing of neighboring 78th Street traffic from July to November in 2008 and 2009. The street functioned as a play street. The play street project was a joint effort by several organizations, including the Friends of Travers Park, JH Green Alliance and the Western Jackson Heights Alliance. The intention was to seek the closing of the street in 2009 to coincide with the presence of Green Market.
In 2010 after organizing a march to Community Board 3 to request their support, the organizing groups were granted permission to close 78th Street to traffic for the entire months of July and August.
Jackie Robinson
, the first black player in Major League Baseball
, who lived in neighboring East Elmhurst, was frequently seen practicing in this park.
Among great soccer players, on March 3, 2008, Zinedine Zidane
and Steven Gerrard
visited the park as an Adidas
-sponsored movement to advance soccer in the US, filming a section from the commercial string 'Dream Big'.
Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It is located between 77th and 78th Streets, on the north side of 34th Avenue. Every Sunday from May through November it is host to a farmer's market that is part of the Greenmarket program operated by the New York City Council on the Environment.
Since 2004, it has been home to Summer Sundays in the Park, a performance series that features a wide range of music, both in style and ethnicity. The series includes a musical produced by Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading Off-Off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama...
, and a show by the Swedish Cottage Marionettes, based in Central Park. The series is sponsored by the Jackson Heights Beautification Group, its committee, Friends of Travers Park, and beginning in 2008, the Queens Community House. It will be funded in 2009 largely through grants from the Queens Council on the Arts, which had provided funding for several of the earlier editions.
The park underwent a major renovation in the mid-1990s, vastly improving what had been a badly neglected playground. A series of green planting areas were created through the northern half of the park that still flourish today. Many of the shrubs, perennials and fencing protecting them are the work of Friends of Travers Park, which continues to maintain the plantings and provides community input to the New York City Parks Department.
Travers Park is a heavily used park. It is located in City Council District 25, which ranks 50th out of 51 Council Districts in the city in terms of park space, according to the non-profit group New Yorkers for Parks. The district that ranks last is District 4 in Manhattan, New Yorkers for Parks reports. That district, however, runs up Manhattan's East Side and for a considerable stretch borders Fifth Avenue, just across the street from Central Park.
On a sunny spring or summer day it's not unusual to see multiple activities occurring on the asphalt athletic area, such as biycle riding, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, soccer, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
. There is also a handball
American handball
American handball is a sport in which players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using their hands.- History :...
and a full-court basketball court. There is a place for toddlers, a section for a few waterworks and then a section for all the games. Due to the hardness of the surface people get injured; for this reason it is not an ideal sports venue, but as with many things in New York City, its parkgoers make do.
A movement to expand the park has grown starting in 2007. Related to this effort was the closing of neighboring 78th Street traffic from July to November in 2008 and 2009. The street functioned as a play street. The play street project was a joint effort by several organizations, including the Friends of Travers Park, JH Green Alliance and the Western Jackson Heights Alliance. The intention was to seek the closing of the street in 2009 to coincide with the presence of Green Market.
In 2010 after organizing a march to Community Board 3 to request their support, the organizing groups were granted permission to close 78th Street to traffic for the entire months of July and August.
Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, the first black player in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, who lived in neighboring East Elmhurst, was frequently seen practicing in this park.
Among great soccer players, on March 3, 2008, Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
and Steven Gerrard
Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard MBE is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League club Liverpool. He also has 89 caps for the England national team. He has played much of his career in a centre midfielder role, but he has also been used as a second striker and right winger...
visited the park as an Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
-sponsored movement to advance soccer in the US, filming a section from the commercial string 'Dream Big'.