City Cuts Ribbon on Oakland Lake Project

Northeast Queens leaders cut the ribbon Tuesday on a $2.5 million upgrade at Oakland Lake Park that includes the restoration of the site’s shoreline and ravines.

The project was built in conjunction with a $5 million retention facility at Alley Creek that stores combined storm and waste water that had previously been discharged into Little Neck Bay during heavy rainfall.

The city’s Department of Environmental Conservation announced in late May that the $130 million retention facility project, which will halt flooding in Douglaston, Little Neck and Bayside, had been completed.

On Tuesday morning, DEP Commissioner Cas Hollowy and city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said the capital improvement project to restore the Oakland Lake’s 46 acres had also been finished.

“Oakland Lake suffered years of degradation because of unmitigated stormwater runoff,” Holloway said. “We’ve eliminated the threat that stormwater posed to this park and we’ve done it with the first-ever Bluebelt project in Queens.”

The Bluebelt program provides ecologically sound and cost-effective stormwater management as well as preserves natural drainage corridors such as streams, ponds and lakes, Benepe said.

The Oakland Lake project includes the planting of new trees and the instillation of storm sewers in the streets near the park to prevent stormwater runoff and erosion.

Benepe said the upgrade would bring new species to the lake and improve its water quality for birds, fish and plants.

“The restoration of Oakland Lake Park means a cleaner and healthier environment for the residents of Queens to enjoy,” Councilman Mark Weprin, D-Oakland Gardens, said.

The refurbishment included the removal of debris from four of the lake’s ravines, which were also reconstructed. The city also planted trees, shrubs, grasses, ferns and wildflowers at the site.

Three paved fishing pads and canoe launches have also been placed along the lake’s shoreline.

“This project is an outstanding example of how the community, local elected officials and city agencies can collaborate to solve a long-standing community flooding condition, while cleaning up the ecosystem, rehabilitating a neglected park, creating dozens of acres of wetlands, putting hundreds of union workers to work and saving the last kettle lake in the city of New York,” Community Board 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece said.