Help Install the New Playing Surface at Astoria Park Bocce Court

Astoria Park, with its 60 riverside acres, has always been the heartbeat of this dynamic neighborhood in Western Queens.  Now in its tenth year, the Astoria Park Alliance is an all volunteer group that dedicates itself to beautifying the park, bringing in programming, and supplementing its regular maintenance.  Our group cares for the welcome  gardens, rakes leaves, paints benches, removes litter from the shoreline, and so much more.

One issue which has been on the group's radar was the bocce court along Shore Boulevard that had fallen into a state of disrepair.  The court's placement and construction were poorly conceived, leading to an unplayable condition: it lies at the bottom of the hill, did not have built in drainage, and was filled with a combination of sand and dirt.  These three factors led the court to flood with any heavy rains, and turned the playing surface into a hardened, muddy muck.

Last fall, Astoria Park Alliance partnered with a local resident and contractor, Danny Berrios, who was inspired to start renovating the court.  You can read news coverage of how the project got started here- https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161006/ditmars/astoria-park-bocce-ball-court-restoration  Working together with Danny, APA decided to adopt the restoration of the bocce court, with the goal of getting it playable again for spring 2017.  Over the course of October, November, and early December, dozens of volunteers put in countless man-hours excavating the compacted mud, and digging a drainage trench in the center of the court.  We installed a french drain and covered it with gravel.  We worked in conjunction with the Parks Department to get the rotted board on the interior of the court replaced.  We gave a fresh coat of primer and paint to the outside cement walls.  All this was done before the freezing temperatures of winter stopped work for the season.

Now, with spring upon us, APA has just a few tasks left in order to return the court to its former glory.  Primarily, we are ready to install a proper new playing surface for the court.  We will be using a clay material, Har Tru, commonly used in both bocce courts and tennis courts.  The Har Tru clay (unlike the sand/dirt of the past) will provide superior play conditions and will not lead to the muddy drainage problems which left the old court unplayable.  The Parks Department has pledged to supply 65 bags of the material.  Unfortunately, for a bocce court of this size (over 83 feet long), 65 bags won't provide dense enough coverage.  Thus, we are seeking the generous help of private contributors to help us acquire an additional 125 bags of Har Tru clay.  We have identified a local supplier who has quoted a reduced price to us of just under $12 a bag, and will deliver the clay directly to the court on the day of our next scheduled volunteer effort, Saturday, March 25th.

Bocce is the perfect game to unify the residents of Astoria's European-influenced past and its modern future.  We hope that you can be a part of this amazing restoration, and help us install the proper playing surface so that the court may have its grand re-opening on time in April.  If you can't donate financially, we invite you to join us on Saturday March 25th between 10 am and 4 pm to help with project.  Thanks for sharing in our love of Astoria Park.