History
In 1998 a group of concerned residents formed Friends of Gantry Plaza State Park with a goal to take care of our community’s parks, trees and natural areas.
Since those early years we have grown tremendously, and with the opening of Hunter’s Point South Park in August 2013, we evolved into the Hunters Point Parks Conservancy the following year.
Our goal is to support and enhance the waterfront parks in Hunter’s Point through events, education and conservation.
Read more about our work in our 2019 Annual Report.
Mission
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy’s mission is to enhance and advocate for the green spaces and waterfront of Long Island City, Queens, and to ensure the parks remain an indispensable asset to the community.
Working with the Parks Departments
Since 1998, the Conservancy (then the ‘Friends’) has worked closely with leadership at the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. We are proud to be an officially recognized partner of the state parks department operating under a Memorandum of Agreement with the state.
You can view our most recent MOA here. Renewed in 2021.
Since 2014, the Conservancy has enjoyed an informal and positive working relationship with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. In April of 2019, we were thrilled to receive a letter from Commissioner Mitchell Silver thanking us for our work over the years and acknowledging us an official partner of the department.
View letter from Commissioner Silver here.
Leadership
Read more about our board of directors here
Officers
President Rob Basch
Vice President Leonard Klipper
Secretary Sumantro Das
Treasurer Michael koenecke
President Emeritus Bill Bylewski
Board Members
Hossein Aleyasin
Ian Chin
Kelly Craig
Lindsay Deller
Barbara Etzel
Andre Galan
allie Haake
Rebecca Hornstein
Nina Kantcheva Tushev
Ann Margaret O’Connor
Matt Quigley
Financials
Friends of Gantry Plaza State Park, Inc. D.B.A. Hunters Point Parks Conservancy tax forms: