Yesterday, the Parks Department, city and state officials, and Joe and Gavin Maloof cut the ribbon to open a new skate park at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Today and tomorrow, the skate park, which features skating elements from all over the city, will host the Maloof Money Cup with skaters competing for a $250,000 in cash and prizes. more ›

Heads up, Queens: Iron Man is coming your way! The blockbuster's sequel starring Robert Downey, Jr. is due out this May, and currently has a regular website set up along with a promo site for something called Stark Expo. Yes, it's all part of a well-oiled marketing machine, but the latter features Flushing Meadows Corona Park as the venue for the fictional event. It's just too bad the Hollywood fat cats didn't rejuvenate the now-decrepit World's Fair site for real. more ›

Earlier this week, construction got started on a new skate park near the 1964 World's Fair site in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The 16,000 square foot course, which is being built above the old Astral Fountain, will feature elements from around the city: "Original Brooklyn Banks 9-stair replica rail; Union Square rail/steps Police Plaza 7-stair rail/various stairs; Ziegfeld ledge; Chrystie Park ledge; Exchange Place street gap; JFK Banks; Con Ed Banks; Pyramid ledges; Flushing Meadows Park ledge-over-the-grate replica." more ›

One 12-year-old was recently the victim of some kite fighting leftovers. The "sport," made famous in The Kite Runner, is popular in Flushing Meadows Corona Park — and now the city is on the receiving end of a lawsuit over it. more ›

The Parks Department has been letting a concessionaire charge drivers $18 per car to park on grassy playing fields in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, and some people in Queens are mad. Well, one person, at least; a park advocate named Greg Godfrey. He's outraged that the parkland is being gobbled up by cars on days when the U.S. Open overlaps with Mets games, which will happen for the last time tonight when the Mets play the Marlins at Citifield, adjacent to the tennis center. So taxpayers who use the park for cricket and soccer have been relegated to dusty fields, and Godfrey gripes to the Daily News, "When you constantly compress open space and green space, you're reducing the oxygen in the fields and that's where you're losing grass growth." Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski calmly responds that, "You need to give and take, and we all make room for each other," and promises that the USTA reseeds the parking areas. But Godfrey won't be satisfied until somebody builds a multi-level parking deck for sports fans, which Lewandowski acknowledges as a nice idea, it's just that paying for it is "a stumbling block." more ›

The husband of a woman who was killed when an out-of-control van struck a parked car which then hit her told the Daily News, "This is horrible... She was a great mom. I have to raise my kids by myself. I have no choice. She did everything for us." Paula Jimenez, a Virginia resident and mother of two, was at a high school reunion picnic at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park; she was walking near some parked cars when the van "came barreling down an exit ramp off the Van Wyck Expressway... [The van] plowed into a parked car, which then smashed into the helpless Jimenez," severing her spinal cord and "severely injur[ing] her head and kidneys." The van's driver Jian Seng He was charged with second-degree homicide and held on $150,000 bail; his lawyer said his brakes malfunctioned while prosecutors say he was trying to chase another car on the Van Wyck. Grieving Andrew Jimenenz told the News that doctors called him to say his wife was brain-dead, "They were trying to keep her alive for organ donation. She always wanted to give up her organs. ... She always gave up herself." more ›

Last night, a woman was injured when an out-of-control van came "skidding" off the Flushing Meadows-Corona Park exit in Queens. According to the Daily News, "the woman, who had come from Virginia to attend a high school reunion, was talking on a cell phone when the van smashed into the parked Toyota she was standing next to, police sources said." A witness told WABC 7, "The white van was on the expressway changing lane to lane and going very fast. For some reason it then turned towards the park, came on the grass, crashed into a blue car then hit one of the girls. She went flying up into the air and then the van just kept going and spinning around, eventually around the tree." The victim, Paula Jimenez, is reportedly in critical condition. The Post reports the driver, Jian Seng He, 49, was "charged with assault, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident"—he also may have been fleeing from another accident at the time. more ›

Tonight is the last chance until December 2010 to witness a total lunar eclipse. This is the third such eclipse in the past year. With any luck the weather will cooperate. It looks like there will be breaks in the clouds over the city, which should make for dramatic views. Break out the tripods and cameras! more ›

For the 1964-1965 World's Fair, architect Philip Johnson designed the New York State Pavillion in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Besides the well-known observation towers (think Men in Black) and the Theaterama, he commissioned a "130-foot-by-166-foot terrazzo replica of a Texaco New York State road map." more ›

Diamond asked the residents of New York City's most diverse nabe about their food preferences and solicited recipes. Her project, which is being presented by the Queens Museum of Art, runs through October 14. The goal of "This Is What Eat," is to "unite and empower its readers through food." Based on the diversity of recipes it seems to be a resounding success. The dishes run the cultural gamut from red beans and rice and macaroni cheese to shrimp ceviche and Belgium Chicken Soup. more ›

MOVIE: The new Hairspray has set up special Sing-A-Long screenings! They begin nationwide today, and there will be three right here in New York. If you don't like rowdy theaters, skip this one! more ›

After hearing about the tragic rush-hour bridge collapse in Minneapolis that has claimed at least four lives, we wondered what the conditions of New York City's bridges were. Like the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, several of our city's largest bridges are undergoing what seems like constant construction. All the East River bridges are either undergoing repairs right now, have plans for the future, just finished construction, or all of the above. more ›

TONY blog has a report on the most endangered sites in the world. The World Monuments Fund released its 2008 list yesterday, which is packed with far off places. more ›

THEATER: We could try to describe Neal Medlyn's Coming In The Air Tonight, but why bother when there’s this: “The show features a variety of Phil Collins and Genesis music and is about how Neal is starting to slowly fall apart due to how he's all torn up inside from getting his heart broken into tiny pieces. It is also about how Neal steals a lot of stuff from people. Like their belongings and house wares but also their thoughts and ideas…Over the course of which Neal gets progressively covered in more and more blood. The end. As if that weren't enough, it features special guest appearances by Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb), Bridgett Everett (At Least It's Pink), and Adrienne Truscott (of the Wau Wau Sisters).” Read ye olde timey 2004 Gothamist interview with Medlyn. - John Del Signore more ›

We think there is still free access to Times Select articles today, so we urge you to read Dan Barry's column about the NY State Pavilion from the 1964 World's Fair. Here's the opening:

Once there were elevators gliding up the sides of the towers to reveal a city unfolding; now they are rusted in mid-rise. Once there were stairwells winding within those towers; now they are rotted through. The call for a better tomorrow, for “Peace Through Understanding,” is answered by the flutter and coo of its hidden inhabitants. more ›

With the weather so nice, it's the perfect opportunity to head to Flushing today to check out the final day of the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival in New York. Today's races have already started, but the event lasts until 6 p.m., with the last race scheduled for 5:09 (it will undoubtedly be running late). If watching various teams compete in dragon boats from the shores of Meadow Lake in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, there will also be a dumpling eating contest at noon today. more ›

"The U.S. hasn't had a fair in two decades. Since they [the committee] opened the door, we felt we had an obligation to look into this seriously." The FMCPWFA is working on the proposal, with the Willets Point junkyards as the base. But there are some roadblocks, namely how the U.S. ended its membership with the BIE in 2001 and that Mayor Bloomberg, and then President Bush, would have to support the effort. more ›

Yay for optimism, because that seems to be the key word at the Department of Sanitation. The DoS and the city have launched a new anti-littering campaign - "Stomp Out Litter." And it features the cast of Stomp traipsing around the city, from Times Square to the Bronx Zoo - even Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Funny, it looks so glamorous, so "Rent" when the cast of Stomp stomps out litter. more ›

With the proposed chill coming this weekend, we thought it would be a good to remind everyone that the city's ice skating rinks will be closing on April 2. Yes, the Pond in Bryant Park has been closed since January and Prospect Park's rink closed last weekend, but there's still the Abe Stark Rink at Coney Island, World’s Fair Ice Skating Rink in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Staten Island War Memorial Ice Skating Rink in Clove Lakes Park, and Lasker Rink and Wollman Rink in Central Park. And speaking of toe picks, has anyone seen The Cutting Edge 2 on ABC Family yet? more ›

Other things you can do this weekend: Check out Coney Island Day tomorrow or some music, try some recipes mentioned on Gothamist Food, get ready for the Mets-Cardinals series (the Cards are leading both leagues), figure out the right thing to say in an awkward situation, or think about some books you've read lately and how much they might piss Dale Peck off. Or enjoy the splendors of what looks to be a cool, crisp weekend. Happy weekend, everyone! more ›

It's the 13th Annual Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival. Festivites and races take place today and tomorrow, from 9AM- 5PM, at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Meadow Lake. (Take the 7 train to Willets Point - Shea Stadium; then walk or take the trolley...check courtesy desk Unfortunately, subway maintenance limits service to Willets Point - thanks reader David). There are races, Dragon parades, arts & crafts... more ›