Along my long trek along the western Queens waterfront a few day ago, i came across a little sculpture garden on the water in Ravenswood called Socrates Sculpture Park.
It's hidden away along Vernon Blvd. Between Rainey Park and Hallets Cove. It is a small tract of land, next to old half emerged broken down piers and a private lot used as storage for some rusty industrial equipment. There are a few nice permanent sculptures surrounded by temporary exhibits. One in particular was very striking. Takashi Horisaki has an exhibit that makes note of Hurricane Katrina 730 days later. There is a recreated "Dislocated house from New Orleans". What wasn't clear was whether it was made from materials actually from the disaster...but it certainly seemed to be implied.
Up until now, i had never heard of the existence of such a park. So it has taken me a few days to find some more info on the area. It has a very good history. It was an artist reclamation project. Local artists, most notably Mark Di Suvero, took over a riverside landfill and illegal dumpsite and turned it into a vibrant public space. 20 Years later, it is under the umbrella of the New York City Parks Department but still run by the artists themselves.
It is not a place that most people will likely visit, but it should be known by many more people and used as an example by others. The waterfront in the area is getting not so slowly taken over by one real estate firm after the next. The waterfront should be public space...So, lets make sure it is!!!
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