Potamogeton Pond
Public awareness of the pond can be credited to the public-school science teacher Thomas F. Schweitzer and the Queens College ecology professor Andrew C. Greller, who led tours of the pond site and founded organizations that advocated for its restoration. Schweitzer's Hollis Hills Civic Association teamed up with Greller's Queens College Ecology Club to lobby the city, which by 1970 determined that "the area known as Pea Pond ... no longer receives sufficient water to maintain a pond". Undeterred, advocates for the pond enlisted the support of the Boy Scouts, the Queens Village Centennial Association, and local high school nature clubs. Under the banner of the East Queens Ad Hoc Committee for a Natural Attitude Toward Urban Recreational Environment (NATURE), supporters succeeded in blocking the state and city's plans to cover the pond's site.
The pond is presently overgrown with Phragmites and cattails. It fills up completely only after heavy rains. Entrances to the Potamogeton Pond Trail can be found on Grand Central Parkway at 217th Street and at 82nd Avenue.
References
- ^ Montgomery, Paul L. (November 2, 1970). "Conservationists Fights Desecration of Queens Pond". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ Montgomery, Paul L. (March 21, 1971). "Drive Is On to Save Northern Queens Woodlands". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ Berliner, David C. (January 25, 1976). "State joins Fight for a Pond". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- ^ Kadinsky, Sergey (2016). Hidden Waters of New York City: A History and Guide to 101 Forgotten Lakes, Ponds, Creeks, and Streams in the Five Boroughs. New York, NY: Countryman Press. pp. 158–159. ISBN 978-1-58157-566-8.
External links
- Walsh, Kevin. "Potamogeton Pond". Forgotten New York. March 21, 2011.
- Finding Aid for the Andrew Greller Papers, Queens College Libraries Special Collections and Archives, City University of New York.
- Andrew Greller Digitized Scrapbooks, Queens College Libraries Special Collections and Archives, JSTOR Open Community Collections.