Flushing Meadows–Corona Park

===Filling and use as a dumping ground===
Around 1907, contractor Michael Degnon, whose firm constructed the [[Williamsburg Bridge]], the [[Cape Cod Canal]], and the [[Steinway Tunnel|Steinway subway tunnel]] (used by today's {{NYCS trains|Flushing}}),<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=10}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=18}}</ref> purchased large tracts of marsh near Flushing Creek.<ref>{{harvnb|Strategic Framework Plan|p=52}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Steinberg|2015|p=211}}</ref><ref name="Seyfried1986">{{cite book|author=[[Vincent F. Seyfried]]|title=Corona: From Farmland to City Suburb, 1650–1935|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09CitgAACAAJ|access-date=April 8, 2017|date=1986|publisher=publisher not identified|pages=66–70}}</ref> At the time, the land was considered "all but worthless".{{sfn|Stage 1A Assessment|p=11}} Degnon envisioned using the site to create a large industrial port around [[Flushing Bay]], similar to a terminal he developed in [[Long Island City]].<ref name="Seyfried1986" /><ref>{{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=211}}; {{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=11}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}</ref> By 1911, Degnon had created a plan along with the [[United States Department of War]] and the Queens Topographical Bureau. The plan envisioned widening Flushing River and creating docks for ships, with numerous factories and freight facilities. Meanwhile, the residential areas of Corona were expected to become the primary residence for factory workers.{{sfn|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=18}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Paragraphs of Interest|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%25204%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%25201911%2520Grayscale%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%25201911%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200469.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%25204%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%25201911%2520Grayscale%2FNewtown%2520NY%2520Register%25201911%2520Grayscale%2520-%25200469.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=Newtown Register|via=[[Old Fulton New York Postcards]]|date=September 28, 1911|page=4|quote=The announcement made this week that the contractors who have filled in the Flushing meadows intend to develop the water front&nbsp;...}}</ref>

[[File:Valley of Ashes.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Corona Ash Dumps, circa the early 1920s]]

To create the port, beginning in 1910 Degnon proceeded to fill the land using household [[coal ash]] and street sweepings from Brooklyn. Degnon set up two companies of his own, one of which was contracted with the [[New York City Department of Sanitation]].<ref name="Steinberg2011-SFP52-Stage1A11-Phase1A19-EIS1_10"/> He also contracted the Brooklyn Ash Removal Company, owned by [[John A. McCarthy (New York politician)|Fishhooks McCarthy]], a member of the corrupt [[Tammany Hall]] political machine.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Schneider|first=Daniel B.|date=November 28, 1999|title=F.Y.I.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/28/nyregion/fyi-574961.html|access-date=May 8, 2022|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508234401/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/28/nyregion/fyi-574961.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Residential ash was collected via trolleys of the [[Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company]], and loaded onto freight trains which traveled via the [[Long Island Rail Road]] branches, or other trolleys, which hauled the refuse to Corona.<ref name="Steinberg2011-SFP52-Stage1A11-Phase1A19-EIS1_10">{{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=211}}; {{harvnb|Strategic Framework Plan|p=52}}; {{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=11}}; {{harvnb|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=19}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}</ref> The operation was referred to as a citywide refuse "conveyor belt," while the trains were nicknamed the "[[Talc|Talcum Powder]] Express" because they often ran uncovered and deposited soot onto the surroundings.<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=11}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Steinberg|2015|p=212}}</ref> The northern end of the site was filled via now-conventional means, using dirt pumped from Flushing Bay which was being dredged to a lower depth. Material from the bay was extracted by an offshore hydraulic machine, and funneled through a {{convert|1500|ft|m|adj=on}} pipe across Northern Boulevard, before being deposited onto the wetlands.<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=23}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}</ref> The filling for the north meadow was complete in 1916.{{sfn|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}

The prospect of creating a port was halted in 1917 by material restrictions caused by [[World War I]], and a lack of federal support for the project. Industrial activities in the borough were fulfilled by existing terminals in Long Island City, [[Maspeth, Queens|Maspeth]], Flushing, and College Point.<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=14}}; {{harvnb|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=26}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}</ref> Dumping of ash into the meadows continued, however, fueled by the increased use of garbage incinerators in the city.{{sfn|Steinberg|2015|p=213}} The area became known as the Corona Dump or Corona Ash Dumps.<ref>{{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=212}};
{{harvnb|ps=.|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}}</ref> During nearly 30 years of filling, around 50&nbsp;million cubic yards of ash and waste were dumped onto the meadows site.<ref>{{harvnb|PANYNJ Airport Transit Environmental Impact Statement|1994|p=1⋅10}};
{{harvnb|ps=.|Willets Point DEIS|2013|p=1⋅3}}</ref> One particular mound of ash rose {{convert|90|ft|m}} high and was called "Mount Corona".<ref>{{harvnb|NYC Parks Tomorrow's World|2015}}; {{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=212}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Strategic Framework Plan|p=52}}</ref> Other mounds rose {{convert|40|-|50|ft|m}} high.<ref name="NYTimes-WF-Jun1936"/> The average thickness of the ash was {{convert|30|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Willets Point DEIS|2013|p=1⋅3}}

The dumps drew the ire of local residents, due to strong odors and being deemed unsightly, along with increasing rat infestations in the local neighborhoods.<ref>{{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=213}}; {{harvnb|Strategic Framework Plan|p=52}}; {{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|pp=14–15}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Willets Point DEIS|2013|p=1⋅3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=WAR DECLARED UPON RATS.; Extermination of Pests in Corona and Elmhurst Ordered by Copeland.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E4DA1E30E433A25757C0A9679D946195D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 4, 1920|archive-date=November 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122132404/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E00E4DA1E30E433A25757C0A9679D946195D6CF&legacy=true|url-status=live}}</ref> Much of the "street sweepings" collected consisted of horse [[manure]] from horse-drawn carriages. In addition, many residents simply threw out normal garbage along with the coal ashes.<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|p=12}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=21}}</ref> The meadows were also considered one of the worst breeding grounds for mosquitoes in the city.<ref>{{harvnb|Steinberg|2015|p=217}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Willets Point DEIS|2013|p=1⋅3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Health Department Wars on Mosquitos; Great Number of Pests Laid to Heavy Rains|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1925/08/20/archives/health-department-wars-on-mosquitos-great-number-of-pests-laid-to.html|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=August 20, 1925|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616002002/https://www.nytimes.com/1925/08/20/archives/health-department-wars-on-mosquitos-great-number-of-pests-laid-to.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The dump was famously characterized as "a valley of ashes" in [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]]'s ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''.<ref>{{harvnb|Stage 1A Assessment|pp=14–15}}; {{harvnb|ps=.|Strategic Framework Plan|p=52}}</ref> Fitzgerald meanwhile described the Flushing River, now polluted from the dumps, as "a small foul river".{{sfn|NYC Parks Tomorrow's World|2015|p=5}} The dumps and garbage trains were accused of facilitating a [[Poliomyelitis|polio]] outbreak in Corona in 1916.{{sfn|Phase 1A Report|1985|p=24}} The Brooklyn Ash Removal Company was brought to court by local residents in 1923 for "violation of the sanitary code" due to the smoke emitted from the dumps.<ref>{{cite news|title=Smoke Nuisance Charge: Case Against Brooklyn Ash Removal Company Is Adjourned|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/09/14/105931103.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1923/09/14/105931103.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 14, 1923}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ash Company Held on Nuisance Charge: Special Sessions Court to Act on Maintenance of Corona Meadows Smudge|url=http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/highlight-for-xml?altUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252014%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%25201923%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%25201923%2520-%25207805.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252014%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%25201923%2FBrooklyn%2520NY%2520Standard%2520Union%25201923%2520-%25207805.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=[[Brooklyn Standard Union]]|via=[[Old Fulton New York Postcards]]|date=September 26, 1923|page=14}}</ref> As a minor concession, the company opened the Corona Park Golf and Country Club in 1931, on a tract near Nassau Boulevard (today's Long Island Expressway).{{sfn|NYC Parks Tomorrow's World|2015|p=5}}<ref>{{cite news|title=PLAN GOLF COURSES IN CORONA MEADOWS; Brooklyn Owners to Convert Land Into a Sport Centre.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1929/07/22/archives/plan-golf-courses-in-corona-meadows-brooklyn-owners-to-convert-land.html|access-date=March 27, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 22, 1929|archive-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616002000/https://www.nytimes.com/1929/07/22/archives/plan-golf-courses-in-corona-meadows-brooklyn-owners-to-convert-land.html|url-status=live}}</ref>