You are reading

Hunters Point Parks Conservancy to host first annual Waterfront Gala next week

Hunters Point Park. File photo Queens Post

Oct. 29, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

Hunters Point Parks Conservancy (HPPC) will host its first annual Waterfront Gala on Nov. 7, raising money for the hundreds of free programs that the conservancy hosts throughout the year in Hunters Point South Park and Gantry Plaza State Park.

The gala will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, at Terrone, 52-03 Center Blvd., and will feature music, food, drinks, dancing, and live auctions.

The event will also honor TF Cornerstone for their ongoing support of the two waterfront parks and Millbank LLC for their pro-bono legal assistance in opening the Queens Landing Boathouse and Environmental Center, which opened at 57-28 2nd St. in October last year.

Photo: Hunters Point Parks Conservancy.

HPPC President Rob Basch said the upcoming gala was an opportunity to celebrate everything that the conservancy has accomplished on the Long Island City waterfront.

“It (the gala) is a lot to put together, but we felt a reason to celebrate everything we accomplished,” Basch said. “We’ve done well over two hundred free events this year. We’ve got thousands of people that show up to our movies, and we need to raise funds.”

“I don’t think there’s any parks group out there that comes close to matching the amount of programming and the amount of assistance that we do,” Basch continued, “We pulled over 2,100 bags of leaves this year. I may be biased, but I think what we do is unprecedented.”

Basch said the gala will help ensure that the conservancy can continue providing free events in the two waterfront parks next year, but the event will also celebrate the LIC community.

He added that the conservancy’s free programming can serve a vital function in the local community by providing an inexpensive outlet in the neighborhood.

“We really want to get people outdoors,” Basch said. “We realize growing up in Long Island City can be expensive, and to provide free programming for kids and for adults is something we really value.”

“We don’t want people to get priced out of Long Island City. Providing lots of free programs, we think, gives people another reason to stay and live here.”

Basch said the gala will be a fun night for the local community and encouraged people to buy tickets for the upcoming event. He said the live auction will feature JetBlue tickets and items from local restaurants.

email the author: news@queenspost.com
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Disgraced former Queens Council Member Dan Halloran arrested on child porn charges

Former Queens Council Member Dan Halloran, who was convicted in 2014 for his role in two bribery and corruption schemes and served five years in federal prison, is in trouble with the law again.

Halloran was arrested at Miami International Airport on Saturday, March 29, and charged with possessing child pornography and transporting child pornography after U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspected his Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max and an Apple iPad 6th Generation tablet and discovered several videos of suspected child pornography located in a hidden folder album on the phone’s photos application, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.

Southeast Queens man convicted of triple murder in 2022 stabbing rampage that killed girlfriend, her son and cousin: DA

A Jamaica man was convicted at trial Tuesday of murder in the first degree and other crimes for the vicious stabbing deaths of his girlfriend, her son and a visiting cousin during a bloody rampage in June 2022.

Travis Blake, 31, of 155th Street, faces up to life in prison at sentencing following the three-and-a-half-week-long trial. The jury deliberated for just two hours before reaching the guilty verdict in Queens Supreme Court.

Op-ed: The crisis facing immigrant gender-based violence survivors

April 2, 2025 By Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, Zeinab Eyega and Yasmeen Hamza

As advocates who have dedicated our careers to achieving gender equity and justice, and as the representative of and service providers for some of the most culturally diverse districts in the country, we know firsthand the importance of ensuring that survivors of gender-based violence receive support that speaks to their specific needs. In Queens, where nearly 300 languages and dialects are spoken and we face the third-highest rate of reported domestic violence in New York State, the call for culturally specific services is urgent—and it is time for us to act.