(This article is published with permission from the Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy where it was originally written.)

For many years the Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy has advocated for park improvements to increase safety.  We have requested better paths and fewer fences so the park is more welcoming and less desolate.  We have asked for better design and maintenance so the park does not have overgrown areas that provide cover for illegal dumping, rape or murder.  Kissena Corridor Park needs to be designed to bring in the community, not crime.

On July 19th, 2017 an attacker sexually assaulted a 32 year old women and, what is believed to be the same attacker, sexually assaulted a 17 year old women the next day on July 20th (according to QNS).  On July 20th, police apprehend a suspect in Kissena Corridor Park based on witness accounts (CBS).  The suspect, who was charged with rape and robbery lives close to the park (New York Post).

In June of 2016, three women were attacked around Kissena Corridor Park within 6 days of each other (AMNY).

In December of 2015 a man was charged with the stabbing death of 28 year old women found in Kissena Corridor Park (NY Daily News).  At 3:00 PM homeless man discover the body and went to a nearby church to call 911 (Queens Gazette).  The body was found only about 300 feet from an entrance, right next to a gated area (NY Daily News).

Although the NYPD reports that crime is decreasing city-wide, our parks may be an exception.  By one study crime has increased 23% in our green space (Times Ledger).

It is time for the City of New York to take responsibility for cleaning up Kissena Corridor Park and give it the resources to support the growing community around it.

If you’d like to make the park more accessible to the community, please sign our petition to build better paths and connecting it to Flushing Meadows Park and Kissena Park.

To help us develop this parkland into something every Queens resident could be proud of, please consider coming to Kissena Corridor Park Conservancy’s next meeting from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Thursday, August 17 at:

Flushing Hospital, 5th Floor Auditorium
146-01 45th Avenue
Flushing, NY 11355