Long Island City parents are calling on the State Parks Department to open a track and soccer field at Gantry State Park an hour earlier so that students and adults can squeeze in more recreational time.
Located on Center Boulevard and 47th Avenue, the sports field used for joggers and soccer and baseball fans officially opens at 8 a.m. The space, which takes up an entire city block, is also frequented by students at neighboring P.S./I.S. 78 and their families.
LIC Parents Group, which consists of 964 members, is asking that employees unlock the gates one hour earlier. They’ve received support from Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and Senator Michael Gianaris but are hoping to hear back from the State Parks Department.
“It’s a very simple situation,” said Kris Schrey, a member of the group. “We’re in the lucky situation that there is a park, there’s a sports field with a running track and soccer field and the only problem is it doesn’t open early enough that people who go to work can use it before work and kids who go to school can use it before school.”
Though the space is located in New York City, it is operated by the state whose employees are based in Harlem, Schrey said. Parents have tried talking to employees about their desire to open the park earlier but have not had any luck.
“It doesn’t take any money,” he said. “It just takes a little bit of good will, common sense and sense of cooperation.”
Schrey added that the group’s desire is also based on studies that show exercise before school can improve a student’s ability to focus and learn, and according to a Department of Education report, Queens students are not getting enough exercise at school.
According to the report, during the 2015-2016 school year, 69.9 percent of Queens elementary students did not receive the state-mandated amount of PE, totaling 74,621 students. That makes Queens the borough with the second-highest number of students missing their required PE time out of the five boroughs.
When grades 6-12 and kindergarten are added, the number of students missing out on the required amount of PE skyrockets to 109,600.
Nolan, who sent a letter to State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey on April 7, said opening the park an hour earlier would allow students and parents “get the exercise they need.”
“Research has shown a correlation between an increase in physical education and exercise and a better academic record for our students,” she added in the letter.
QNS has reached out to the State Parks Department and is awaiting a response.
