Astoria Park, on the west shore of Queens, extends from south of the Triborough Bridge to north of the Hell Gate Bridge. The history of the park begins in October 1913, when the park was called the William J. Garner Park. In December of that year, it was renamed to Astoria Park. At the beginning of the park’s history, the surrounding Astoria area was occupied by mostly Irish and Italian immigrants. After the boom of Greek immigrants in the 1960s, Astoria park became a cultural center for Greek and Italian people.
The new facility was equipped with two playgrounds, six tennis courts, an athletic field, 
three baseball diamonds, a wading pool, bandstand, comfort station and walks throughout. In 1926 community members gathered to dedicate the Astoria Park Memorial in tribute to the sons of Long Island City who died in World War I. Major improvements in Astoria Park were undertaken by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses and the Works Progress Administration during the summer of 1936. The stunning pool complex opened on July 4 of that year and hosted the swimming and diving trials for the U.S. Olympic Teams in 1936 and 1964.
The 56-acre park was expanded twice. Parks acquired two pieces of land: a 4.5-acre parcel beneath the Triborough Bridge in 1937 and a 5-acre strip (known as Ralph DeMarco Park) along the East River in 1969. A three-part project renovated the park in the 1980s, which included fixing the parks facilities (playgrounds, park fields, drainage systems), installing new equipment (swings, fountains, game tables), and repaving all the roads and walkways. The warm and friendly setting of Astoria Park remains rich in history and symbolic of the constantly changing culture of New York City.
Astoria park has a wide variety of different facilities. Facilities such as bathrooms, water fountains, and playgrounds are standard for all parks. Astoria park, however, also has skate parks, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, running tracks, spray showers, fitness equipment, tennis and bocce courts, and dog runs.
Sources:
City of New York Parks and Restoration: http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/AstoriaPark/history
Hi, Ivan!
You touched on Depression-era aspects of the park, but I would like to know more about current facilities and accommodations.
The post is well written, but would be stronger with the inclusion of demographic statistics and park events.
This is, overall, a useful and information-filled blog post. I think it would be stronger if you gave a better sense of the park’s context. Why did the city build it in 1913–was this area growing (perhaps because of the subway’s expansion)? Who used the park, and who lived in the surrounding neighborhood at this time? This part doesn’t have to be that extensive, because the focus here should be on the Great Depression/Great Recession theme, but a bit more detail than you have now would be nice.
In addition, I would like to see more about the context of the park in the 1930s. Remember our Caro chapter, which described the absolutely horrible condition of many city parks by the 1930s? What was Astoria Park like? Who worked on the park (local men? WPA? PWA?) and why did they build a swimming pool there? The part about the Olympics is a nice touch, by the way. You might mention the names of the medalists who swam here, but that’s not necessary if you’re not interested.
Also, I agree with Mark about giving your readers a better understanding of who lives around the park today and how that has influenced its use. Furthermore, I like the visuals you have but encourage you to include more and to weave them into the post (rather than just having them at the top). Check out the Library of Congress Photos and Prints catalog (which might have some good WPA and inventory photos), as well as the NYPL and Queens Public Library sites.
You provided a nice history and background of Astoria Park, but you could strengthen the Great Depression/Great Recession comparison; perhaps you can provide the transit options and, as Mark mentioned, demographics of the area and park events. Also, don’t forget to caption your photos!
Just as everyone mentioned in the above comments, I think your post can be improved if you give more context of the park and focus on the Depression-Recession frame. Also more relevant pictures will help make the post more engaging and complete.