It all seemed a little too perfect when the city's Economic Development Corporation signed on the dotted line this June to approve the $100 million Hunters Point South project. Plans showed a bucolic 30-acre project on the Long Island City waterfront with 5,000 units of housing and 11 acres of gloriously Thomas Balsley-landscaped open space. And then there were even promo posters! But those waterfront acres are now the source of some minor strife. City officials plan to cover "The Green," the project's vast oval lawn, with artificial turf, because real grass means more geese. But turf can overheat in the summer, and the locals want grass that's more, uh, grassy. As one resident said at a public hearing, "When someone goes to a park, they're expecting nature." We think that definition of a park is a little narrow, no? Especially for a park that will someday include a Newtown Creek kayak launch.
· Residents worry about river access, artificial turf at new 11-acre Hunters Point park [NYDN]
· Long Island City Utopia Maps Out Its Garden Of Eden [Curbed]
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