Afternoon View - Flushing & Forest Hills

The Farmboyz and I did one of our outer borough explorations today, venturing out into the wilds of far Queens. We usually take our bikes on the subway, but Farmboy C (above) blew a tire so we spent the afternoon hoofing around Flushing Meadows-Corona Park (site of the 1939 and 1964 World's Fairs), which today was hosting the 18th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.ABOVE: We got a look at the soon-to-be demolished Shea Stadium and the almost-finished Citi Field. BELOW: We came across Andy Warhol's 1964 tile mosaic tribute to reviled urban planner Robert Moses, the man who successfully rammed expressways through many of Gothams's neighborhoods.ABOVE AND BELOW: We were among the very few in the crowded park who were not speaking Cantonese or carrying a parasol. Tons of companies were on hand to give out branded trinkets, which people gladly waited in long lines to receive.
ABOVE: Many of the 7 trains spend their weekends sleeping in the shadow of the Arthur Ashe Stadium, host of the U.S. Open. BELOW: On the west side of the park, we walked under this train station to stroll around Forest Hills, the mostly-fancy, mostly-Jewish neighbood whose tennis club was genesis of the U.S. Open. Forest Hills, with its lovely Tudor homes, looks much like an English village. Trivia: the world's first radio commerical advertised homes in Forest Hills.
ABOVE: The '64 World's Fair Sky Streak lifts are rotting away. One has already been torn down and the plan is to demolish the remaining two, pending a $500,000 study into their stability. I can vividly recall riding to the top of the tallest tower during the fair, even though I was only five years old at the time. Preservationists want to keep the towers of course, but hey, you can always see them in Men In Black.