Mafera Park (officiallyJoseph F. Mafera Park)[1] is a park inQueens,New York City, United States. It is approximately 5.4 acres (0.022 km2) in size,[2] located adjacent to theNew York City Subway'sFresh Pond Yard and close to theFresh Pond Junction between theLong Island Rail Road'sBay Ridge andLower Montauk branches.[3][4] It has facilities for baseball, basketball, roller hockey, and handball.
The park is named after Ridgewood residentJoseph F. Mafera; when Mafera died in 1967, the park was renamed by law in his honor. TheCity of New York purchased the land in 1948, and on June 28, 1949, a groundbreaking ceremony was held, featuring New York City mayorWilliam O'Dwyer,Queens Borough PresidentJames A. Burke, and Commissioner of Parks and RecreationRobert Moses.[1]
Mafera Park was also known asFarmers' Oval due to the park's history hosting the semi-professionalGlendale Farmers Base Ball Club for almost 50 years, from the 1900s until the 1950s. In the late 1940s and early 1950s it was also briefly calledRidgewood Park andGlen Ridge Park, as the park is betweenGlendale andRidgewood.[5]
It was renovated in the early 1990s, and aribbon cutting ceremony was hosted by mayorRudy Giuliani, Queens Borough PresidentClaire Shulman, and New York City parks commissionerHenry Stern on March 18, 1995.[1]
Joseph Mafera Park in Ridgewood, however, is adjacent to the Fresh Pond Yard and a playground is located about a block away from the rail yard in Glendale.
The largest portion of the money earmarked for Maspeth — $175,000 — is to be spent for nighttime lighting in Joseph F. Mafera Park, which is on the Middle Village ‐ Glendale ‐ Ridgewood border.
40°42′25″N73°53′29″W / 40.706827°N 73.891306°W /40.706827; -73.891306
