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Community leaders like Joann Ariola have been fighting for the Lindenwood Roundabout beautification for years, as evidenced by this 2015 photo at the formally infamous intersection.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Community leaders, elected officials, Queens Botanical Garden officials, the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic, Community Board 10, the City Department of Transportation, and artists from Combo Colab on Monday marked the opening of a new public art installation at Lindenwood Circle.
The public art installation incorporates colorful seasonal plantings to beautify and improve the traffic circle at the intersection of 153rd Avenue and 88th Street in the Lindenwood neighborhood of Howard Beach. This project was created by Queens Botanical Garden and the artist team Combo Colab in partnership with the NYC Department of Transportation, Ulrich’s Office, and the civic.
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Poor visibility and the confusing, labyrinthine configuration of the now-defunct traffic triangle at the intersection have sparked accidents and myriad near-misses for many years.
The councilman noted that his Office initiated the project by securing $38,500 in council discretionary funding for the Queens Botanical Garden. The installation will remain in the traffic circle for 364 days.
Rotation Garden creates a focal point where art and plantings are woven together to be contemplated from every angle. The installation encourages discovery from afar and a new landscape emerges from within the circle, a structure of wonder, a counterpart to the existing towering trees wrapping the roundabout. Rotation Garden references the dynamism of the Lindenwood traffic circle.
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Councilman Ulrich called the intersection “once a desolate, barren eyesore in our community.”
The basin shaped structure is created by radially arranged metal stock tanks as planting beds retrofitted with slanted wooden stakes to create a dynamic dialogue between the passerby and the structure. Plantings with popping colors flood the base ring and accentuate the movement. Rhythms of painted surfaces on the wood sync with the planting palette and add a kinetic layer enhancing the interaction with the pedestrian and vehicular traffic alike.
Poor visibility and the confusing, labyrinthine configuration of the now-defunct traffic triangle at the intersection have sparked accidents and myriad near-misses for many years. In the winter, the unusual positions of the crosswalks at the intersection used to prevent City Sanitation Department plows from properly clearing paths for pedestrians.
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In addition to the new art installation, benefits of the revolutionized Lindenwood Circle include: new shorter crossings clarify pedestrian paths and expand the pedestrian network; calms traffic on all approaches to intersection; reduces speeding by narrowing travel lanes with painted parking lanes and flush medians; large, painted pedestrian area provides a new public space to the community.
On Monday, Ulrich took the occasion to mark the memory of his friend and budget director Matthew Pecorino, who sadly passed away on June 30. “This was one of the last projects Matt worked on in my office,” Ulrich explained. “He worked very hard on making sure this particular item got into the New York City budget, so I’m glad to remember him today.”
Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic President Joann Ariola, who spearheaded the community’s involvement in the transformation of the Circle, added, “The Civic is pleased to be part of the team who brought a pop-up floral art piece that provides both safety and beauty to our Lindenwood Roundabout.”
