Gateway to Long Island City

The Bicycle and Pedestrian Landscape Improvement Project of Queens Plaza is intended to create a gateway to Long Island City.

1 minute read

June 26, 2009, 6:00 AM PDT

By Liyuan Huang


Urban Omnibus interviews Sandro Marpillero of urban designers Marpillero Pollak Architects, part of the team on the project.

"Urban Omnibus: Tell me about Queens Plaza.

Sandro Marpillero: Historically, it's a layering of several phases of intervention. First came the Queensboro bridge, in 1909. Then came one installment of the Elevated, the one that corresponds to the N/W/7 today. And then some years later, another layer of subway came in, which prompted the transformation of the elevated station, just west of what will be JFK Park. As part of the overall transformation of the bridge, the upper deck – previously devoted to rail and subway – became car traffic. The introduction of car traffic brought about the immense ramps that encircle Silvercup studios. This is where the main focus of our intervention is, but it's part of an ongoing transformation of a 1.3 mile stretch."

Thursday, June 25, 2009 in THE DIRT

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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