Cunningham Park is a park in the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. The park lies between the

Grand Central Parkway The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) controlled-access parkway that stretches from the Triborough Bridge in New York City to the Queens– Nassau County line on Long Island. At the Nassau County line, it becomes t ...

to the south and the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

, and is bifurcated by the

Clearview Expressway Clearview or clear view may refer to: Entertainment * ''Clearview'' (album), the seventh studio album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall Companies * Clearview AI, a facial recognition company * Clearview Cinemas, a chain of movie the ...

. The park is operated by the

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

History

New York City acquired land to build a park, named Hillside Park, in 1928. Major W. Arthur Cunningham served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as a member of the 165 Infantry of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. A resident of Forest Hills, Major Cunningham successfully ran as a Republican for the position of controller of New York City in 1933. After being sworn into office, Cunningham found that the city was deeply in debt and had insufficient funds to repay its debts. Cunningham also found that the city had been far behind in collecting property taxes from landowners. Cunningham said that the city must collect the delinquent property taxes, and that the property tax rate would likely need to be increased in order for the city to stay afloat. Cunningham disclosed all the financial troubles of the city in order to better inform the public. Cunningham died of a heart attack while riding a horse in Asharoken, Long Island. He was 39 years old. His body was buried in Calvary Cemetery near

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; Sunnyside to the east; and Newtown Creek, which separates Queens from Greenpoint, Brook ...

. Queens Borough President George U. Harvey considered Cunningham a dear friend of his, and he thought that Cunningham's untimely death was caused in part by his worries about the city's problems. In 1935, the Board of Aldermen voted in favor of renaming Hillside Park in honor of Cunningham. In June 1936, a memorial to Cunningham was erected in park in the following month. The memorial was a flagpole set in bronze with an inscribed stone base. Major Cunningham's seven-year-old son, John Arthur Cunningham, unveiled the plaque at a ceremony.Cunningham Park: History
. ''

''. Retrieved June 6, 2018. In 1940, New York City bought a piece of land in order to connect discontinuous segments of

Francis Lewis Boulevard Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The boulevard z ...

and to expand Cunningham Park. A granite and bronze memorial to Major Cunningham was created by sculptor Emil Siebern and installed next to the Cunningham memorial flagpole in 1942.

Bicycle trails

The

Long Island Motor Parkway The Long Island Motor Parkway, also known as the Vanderbilt Parkway, Vanderbilt Motor Parkway, or Motor Parkway, was a limited-access parkway on Long Island, New York, United States. It was the first highway designed for automobile use only. Th ...

provides a bicycle path through Cunningham Park, west to Kissena Park and east to Alley Pond Park, part of the Brooklyn-Queens Greenway. Mountain biking trails run throughout northern areas of the park which include two major sections connected by an overpass that runs across the

. Trails are signed by level and range from beginner to expert.

New York Road Runners New York Road Runners (NYRR) is a non-profit running organization based in New York City whose mission is to help and inspire people through running. It was founded in 1958 by Ted Corbitt with 47 members and has since grown to a membership of more ...

hosts a weekly 2.7-mile Open Run.

References

External links

Cunningham Park

Partnership for Parks: Cunningham Park
* {{Protected areas of New York City Parks in Queens, New York Urban public parks Bayside, Queens Fresh Meadows, Queens