Pratt Center Research
Building Resilient CommunitiesStewardship of Our Community Park
Report | March 15, 2017
The largest park in Queens and the fourth largest park in New York City, Flushing Meadows Corona Park (FMCP) spans 897 acres and is home to several important cultural institutions. Surrounded by the most diverse neighborhoods in the City, FMCP serves as an important resource for communities living near the park with limited access to open, green space.
The Flushing Meadows Corona Park Alliance, a not-for-profit organization with a 15-member board, was established in 2015 to raise funds for the maintenance and improvement of the park. An independent Community Advisory Board (CAB), comprised of community and civic organizations, was established shortly thereafter to elect a representative to serve on the Alliance’s board of directors.
While the CAB was created with the vision of giving users and the surrounding community a vote on the Alliance’s board of directors, the CAB’s overarching mission and goals are defined independently from the Alliance. In March of 2016, Pratt Center was invited by the CAB’s elected leadership, the Co-Chairs, to guide the diverse CAB membership in the development of its mission, organizational structure, and first-year goals.
Pratt Center embarked on a thorough process of soliciting input from CAB members through meeting activities and interviews, and researched relevant case studies and best practices. The report, “Stewardship of Our Community Park,” provides the CAB with recommendations on how the CAB can engage the broader community to best guide the Alliance around important community priorities.
A Spanish language version of the report is available here thanks to the generous translation provided by the Queens Museum.
Who's working on this
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Sydney Céspedes
Planner
718-637-8642
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Elena Conte
Deputy Director
718-399-4416