When I walk to the 63rd Drive-Rego Park subway station in the morning on my way to school, I have to go through a Long Island Rail Road underpass. Both walls of the underpass have been decorated thanks to the Rego Park Green Alliance’s Queens Art Intervention. Every year, the RPGA hosts two weekends of “interventions meant to inspire, educate, and bring about meaningful collaboration between residents and artists”. This ranges from architectural pieces to performance art to, in this case, murals and photography.
The space used to display a mural reading “REal GOod”, as in the Real Good Construction Company that developed Rego Park. When the paint began peeling due to moisture in the underpass walls, the non-profit Rego Park Green Alliance spent $10,000 (collected through grants, local businesses, and City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz) to create a new exhibition celebrating the neighborhood. The updated underpass mural was completed around 2014, with help from 70 volunteers and instillation help from the LIRR. The contributors are given a special thanks on the wall among the photographs. (The “Jenna” listed is unfortunately not me.)
One wall of the underpass displays peaceful monochrome silhouettes of playing children, with a flock of colorful birds flying across the wall. This mural, designed by Mayuko Fujino, adds a sense of natural whimsy to an area dominated by cars and consumerism.
The other wall is more significant. It includes more colorful, somewhat surreal paintings of trees and fruit, again adding a natural feel to the suburbs in a style reminiscent of a children’s book. Distinguishing itself from the mural of the past, it also hosts several photographs of the surrounding neighborhood, taken by residents “as young as 5”. This gives a sense of community to the underpass, with these pictures taken of everyday sights by everyday people. There are photos taken at different levels, offering a variety of perspectives. There were reportedly over 300 photographs taken in total when creating this project. To protect from the damage the last mural suffered, the photographs are attached to waterproof boards.
Allowing the community in on this project makes it more significant than a single mural dedicated to a company. I usually notice the school bus photo over the other photos when I walk through the underpass, because it reminds me of when I used to take the school bus through my neighborhood to get to school.
The underpass can be shady and a bit unsettling to walk through, especially at night. The mural and photographs provide a sense of comfort and security in its bright imagery and reminders of suburban energy. It welcomes the individual as they pass through to the hustle and bustle of the neighborhood.
