Queens Zoo
Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox zoo
The Queens Zoo (formerly the Flushing Meadows Zoo and Queens Wildlife Center) is an Template:Convert zoo at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, between Grand Central Parkway and 111th Street. The zoo is managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Built along with the Queens Zoo is a children's zoo, which was originally called the Heckscher Children's Farm.
New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses had wanted to add a zoo to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park after the 1964 New York World's Fair. Plans for the zoo were first announced in 1964 as part of the Queens Botanical Garden, but construction for the zoo did not begin until August 20, 1966. The Heckscher Children's Farm, the first part of the new zoo, opened on February 28, 1968, and the rest of the Flushing Meadows Zoo opened on October 26, 1968. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation contracted Wildlife Conservation Society to operate the zoo in 1988. The zoo was closed for renovations for four years, reopening in 1992; it added numerous animals and exhibits after it reopened. The Queens Zoo was nearly shuttered in 2003 due to budget cuts.
The zoo is home to more than 75 species that are native to the Americas. Unlike contemporary zoos, the Queens Zoo did not put animals in cages except when necessary; since the zoo's habitats are open-air, it focuses mostly on animals native to the Americas. The main zoo (now the zoo's wild side), on the eastern portion of the site, contains landscape features such as a marsh and artificially warmed rocks. The domestic side of the zoo, originally the Heckscher Children's Farm, includes domesticated animals. The zoo's aviary is a geodesic dome designed by Thomas C. Howard of Synergetics, Inc. and used during the 1964 fair.
HistoryEdit
The zoo is part of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in the New York City borough of Queens.<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 2003">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The park's site was part of the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair grounds,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the land saw little development during the next quarter-century.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The site of the zoo was part of the Transportation Zone during the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair,<ref name="Daily News 1967">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1966-07-22" /> when the Chrysler Pavilion and Lowenbrau beer garden occupied the zoo's site.<ref name="nyt-1967-04-11">Template:Cite news</ref> By the 1960s, Queens was the only New York City borough without a zoo.<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 2003" /><ref name="nyt-1964-04-12">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Greene 1964">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Even before the 1964 World's Fair opened, New York City parks commissioner Robert Moses had wanted to add a zoo to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.<ref name="nyt-1964-01-20">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo was part of Moses's plans for a system of parks in Queens.<ref name="nyt-1964-01-20" />
PlanningEdit
Moses announced plans for the Queens Zoo in February 1964, when he indicated that it would be built as part of an expansion of the Queens Botanical Garden, on the eastern side of Flushing Meadows. In contrast to existing zoos where animals were kept in cages, the zoo was to have an open-air layout where animals could roam.<ref name="Greene 1964" /> The zoo would have covered either Template:Convert<ref name="nyt-1964-04-12" /> or Template:Convert.<ref name="Daily News 1964">Template:Cite news</ref> That March, Mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. requested that the New York City Council revise the City Administrative Code to permit the zoo's construction,<ref name="Daily News 1964" /> and New York state legislators introduced bills to allow the Queens Botanical Garden Society to operate the zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The City Council signaled its support for the state legislation,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> but plans for the zoo were stymied because of opposition to Moses's plans for Flushing Meadows.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo was supposed to have been funded using profits from the 1964 fair, but the exposition proved highly unprofitable.<ref name="nyt-1967-04-11" />
Before the fair closed, there was talk of converting the fair's geodesic dome into an aviary for the proposed zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Moses's successor, Newbold Morris, announced plans in October 1965 to spend $1.5 million on the Queens Zoo.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-26">Template:Cite news</ref> Morris recommended that the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) fund the restoration of the nearby New York City Pavilion, allowing the city government to divert funds for the City Pavilion's restoration to the zoo's construction.<ref name="nyt-1965-10-26" /> Ultimately, the TBTA agreed to provide $1.2 million for the zoo in February 1966,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> which was later increased to $1.92 million.<ref name="Daily News 1966a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1966-08-21">Template:Cite news</ref> This funding was made possible by a provision that allowed the TBTA to spend money on parks along certain highways.<ref name="nyt-1966-08-21" />Template:Efn The zoo was planned to cover Template:Convert,<ref name="nyt-1966-08-21" /><ref name="Newsday 1966">Template:Cite news</ref> and the Heckscher Foundation for Children agreed to donate $120,000 for a Template:Convert children's zoo within the Queens Zoo.<ref name="Daily News 1966a" /><ref name="Newsday 1966" /> Preliminary plans were being drawn up by early 1966.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> By that July, the city government was planning to construct the zoo on the site of the fair's former transportation area, west of the Grand Central Parkway, rather than next to the Queens Botanical Garden.<ref name="nyt-1966-07-22">Template:Cite news</ref>
Moses attended the zoo's groundbreaking ceremony on August 20, 1966,<ref name="Daily News 1966a" /><ref name="Newsday 1966" /> and the children's zoo partially opened that September.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that year, the TBTA announced more detailed plans for the zoo, which included a concession building and an aviary within the fair's geodesic dome. The agency also planned to award a $2 million contract for the zoo's operation.<ref name="Daily News 1966b">Template:Cite news</ref> The TBTA awarded $2.82 million in construction contracts for the final sections of the zoo in June 1967,<ref name="Daily News 1967" /> and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) took over the land the same month.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> At that point, the children's zoo was planned to be completed in late 1967, followed by the rest of the zoo early the next year.<ref name="Daily News 1967" /> Ultimately, the zoo cost $3.5 million to construct.<ref name="Cohn 1968">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1968-10-27">Template:Cite news</ref>
City operationEdit
Opening and early yearsEdit
The first animals began moving into the Heckscher Children's Farm in February 1968,<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1056">Template:Cite NY1960</ref><ref name="Scarborough 1968">Template:Cite news</ref> and Moses dedicated the children's farm on February 28 of that year.<ref name="nyt-1968-02-29">Template:Cite news</ref> Moses opened the rest of the Flushing Meadows Zoo on October 26, 1968.<ref name="Cohn 1968" /><ref name="nyt-1968-10-27" /> The children's farm was initially free to enter,<ref name="Martin 1968a">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Amon 1968">Template:Cite news</ref> as was the rest of the zoo.<ref name="nyt-1968-10-27" /> The zoo also had pony rides and a carousel, for which an additional fee was charged.<ref name="Martin 1968a" /> Tatiana Gillette-Infante, a former debutante, was hired as the Flushing Meadows Zoo's first supervisor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Soon after the zoo opened, there were reports of people cutting fences, abusing the zoo's birds, and stealing animals from the children's farm for joyrides.<ref name="Dallas 1970">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the zoo frequently experienced blackouts,<ref name="Dallas 1970" /><ref name="nyt-1970-08-08" /> as the park's underground electrical ducts ran through marshland.<ref name="Dallas 1970" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo recorded 100 blackouts in its first three years,<ref name="Daily News 1971" /> some of which had lasted as long as five days.<ref name="nyt-1970-08-08" /> These issues prompted Gillette-Infante to request that the city hire more zookeepers.<ref name="Dallas 1970" />
By the early 1970s, Gillette-Infante alleged that the city government was neglecting the zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="McMorrow 1971">Template:Cite news</ref> She temporarily closed the aviary in October 1970 due to staffing shortages,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and she closed the entire zoo the following June for similar reasons.<ref name="McMorrow 1971" /> Gillette-Infante also wanted the city government to upgrade the zoo's electrical system,<ref name="nyt-1970-08-08">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Daily News 1971">Template:Cite news</ref> and NYC Parks added a secondary power supply to the zoo in 1970.<ref name="Dallas 1970" /> The aviary temporarily closed in May 1971 because visitors frequently attacked the birds and because the aviary's paths kept collapsing.<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23">Template:Cite news</ref> Due to a lack of city funding, City Council member Thomas Manton warned in 1971 that the zoo might have to scale back its activities or even close altogether.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city government began regularly checking up on the zoo's animals in 1972,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Gillette-Infante wanted the city to add an animal clinic and a quarantine facility for newly arrived animals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of a planned United States Bicentennial celebration at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, there were proposals to renovate the zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Mid- and late 1970sEdit
The Flushing Meadows Zoo continued to experience maintenance, funding, and staffing issues during the mid-1970s, and electricity was still inconsistent.<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23" /><ref name="Lisker 1973">Template:Cite news</ref> The lack of money and staff forced the zoo to postpone a planned renovation of the aviary in early 1973.<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23" /> There were discussions about reopening the zoo's aviary in mid-1973,<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23" /> though the aviary remained closed over the following months.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo's insect house was also shuttered.<ref name="Lisker 1973" /> Security at the zoo was increased in 1974 following several incidents at the Prospect Park and Central Park zoos. Additional policemen were stationed in the surrounding area, and the zoo began employing curatorial staff 24 hours a day.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Shirley Weinstein of the Mid-Queens Community Council alleged that the zoo was being neglected;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> at the time, the zoo had over 100 animals.<ref name="Duggan 1975">Template:Cite news</ref> Gillette-Infante recalled that local residents often left unwanted pets there in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
NYC Parks commissioned the naturalist Roger A. Caras in 1974 to study conditions in the city's three municipal zoos at Flushing Meadows, Central Park, and Prospect Park.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Though Caras found fewer problems at the Flushing Meadows Zoo than the two other zoos,<ref name="The New York Times 1975">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Duggan 1975" /> he recommended that all three zoos be taken over by the New York Zoological Society.<ref name="The New York Times 1975" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> City parks commissioner Edwin L. Weisl also supported the takeover,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and he preferred that the zoos be closed if the Zoological Society could not take over operations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the beginning of 1975, the city was negotiating to transfer operation of the zoos to the Zoological Society.<ref name="Duggan 1975" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Protestors wanted the zoos to be closed entirely,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Society for Animal Rights sued in April 1975 to compel the city to close the three municipal zoos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The city government also sold off some of the zoos' animals, citing overcrowding.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A state-government report questioned whether the city government, which was in the midst of a major fiscal crisis, should be using its limited funds to maintain the Flushing Meadows Zoo and the city's other small zoos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The aviary remained closed during the late 1970s,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="nyt-1979-11-27">Template:Cite news</ref> and the zoo's last seals died in 1976.<ref name="Banner 1981">Template:Cite news</ref>
The zoo's opponents continued to advocate for its closure. Tony Carding of the World Federation for the Protection of Animals wrote that, while the zoo was "a more humane and potentially educational attempt at exposing captive wild animals to public view", the site had high amounts of noise pollution.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A groundhog pen was added to the zoo in 1978.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, U.S. Congressman Benjamin Rosenthal proposed adding the surrounding park to the Gateway National Recreation Area, allowing the National Park Service to take over the zoo's operation,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but this legislation was not successful.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the following year, the zoo had only five exhibits, and it suffered from a lack of funds and staff.<ref name="nyt-1979-11-27" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Logan 1979">Template:Cite news</ref> The seal pool was completely empty,<ref name="nyt-1979-11-27" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the zoo as a whole did not have many North American animals.<ref name="Logan 1979" /> Further contributing to its unpopularity, the Flushing Meadows Zoo closed at 4 p.m. each day, and the city government was not planning any major renovations.<ref name="Logan 1979" />
WCS operationEdit
1980s takeover agreementEdit
By 1980, the city government was again negotiating to hand over control of the three municipal zoos to the New York Zoological Society.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The society had wanted to take over only the Central Park Zoo, but the city government insisted that the group also take control of the two other zoos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mayor Ed Koch and the New York Zoological Society signed a fifty-year agreement in April 1980, wherein the Central Park, Prospect Park, and Flushing Meadows zoos would be administered by the Society.<ref name="Duggan 1980">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the takeover, the Society planned to implement an admission fee, and it would spend $4.5 million renovating the zoo and adding animals.<ref name="Duggan 1980" /> Queens borough president Donald Manes requested that the city provide $2 million for the zoo's renovation in its budget for fiscal year 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Negotiations continued for another year and a half, and the New York City Council and Board of Estimate had to approve the admission fees as well.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo received four sea lions in 1981,<ref name="Banner 1981" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and it also received a lion cub despite having no lion enclosure.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Efn
The Zoological Society signed an agreement in October 1981 to manage and renovate the zoos.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Although the Board of Estimate approved the agreement that month,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> the society was not scheduled to take over the zoo immediately.<ref name="McKelvey 1981">Template:Cite news</ref> As part of the agreement, the three municipal zoos were to be renovated.<ref name="McKelvey 1981" /> The Flushing Meadows Zoo was originally planned to be renovated between 1984 and 1985 for $5 million,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> though designs for the renovation were incomplete at the end of 1981.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo launched a program the next year, in which it showed exotic animals to children across Queens.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> NYC Parks began promoting the zoo in 1985 after finding that many Queens residents did not know about its existence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, NYC Parks formed the Friends of the Queens Zoo group to oversee improvements at the zoo.<ref name="Rabin 1985">Template:Cite news</ref> By then, the zoo had 200 animals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following a mauling at the Prospect Park Zoo, signs and fences were installed around the bear enclosure,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and security at the zoo was increased.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, the zoo still experienced power shortages,<ref name="Dallas 1988">Template:Cite news</ref> and a U.S. federal inspector raised concerns that the zoo's clinic lacked consistent electricity.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The aviary also reopened Template:Circa.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Renovation and 1990sEdit
The Zoological Society began drawing up plans for the zoo in 1986;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> the renovation was part of a larger project to refurbish Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Flushing Meadows Zoo was in better condition compared with the Central Park and Prospect Park zoos, so it needed fewer renovations.<ref name="Dallas 1988" /><ref name="Brown 1987">Template:Cite news</ref> The Board of Estimate gave NYC Parks permission to hire a construction contractor for the zoo in April 1987,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Lehrer, McGovern & Bovis were hired to rebuild the zoo.<ref name="Benkoe 1987">Template:Cite news</ref> The city government announced in July 1987 that the zoo would close for renovations, and it began moving animals out of the zoo.<ref name="Benkoe 1987" /> At the time, the zoo's renovation was scheduled to take two or three years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Zoological Society sought to continue hosting North American species there.<ref name="Marzulli 1988">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Flushing Meadows Zoo was supposed to have closed in late 1987, but its closure was delayed while the animals were relocated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo's 30 employees were reassigned to other parks in New York City.<ref name="Marzulli 1988" /> The animals were sent to various sites in the northeast U.S.<ref name="Marzulli 1988" /> Some chickens remained behind, and the operator of the neighboring Flushing Meadows Carousel fed the chickens for the next several years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The Flushing Meadows Zoo was temporarily closed for renovations on August 8, 1988,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and workers began razing the existing structures.<ref name="Dallas 1988" /> The project included new exhibits, a refurbished petting zoo, and rebuilt pathways,<ref name="Benkoe 1987" /> in addition to landscaping changes.<ref name="Brown 1987" /><ref name="Marzulli 1988" /> The old walls and fences were replaced or concealed, and greenery and rocks were added.<ref name="Matsuda 2002">Template:Cite news</ref> At the end of 1989, city officials allocated $550,000 for new equipment at the zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The renovation ultimately was finished in 1991, but the zoo remained closed because of a lack of funding from the city government.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Weeds started to grow in the zoo due to a lack of maintenance,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Zoological Society hired security guards to patrol the site.<ref name="Dallas 1991">Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, because all of the animals had been sold off, the Zoological Society had to get new animals.<ref name="Queen 1991">Template:Cite news</ref> Mayor David Dinkins ultimately agreed to provide funding for the zoo after Queens borough president Claire Shulman threatened to prevent the nearby USTA National Tennis Center from being expanded.<ref name="Gordy 1992">Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo's annual operating costs at the time were about $1–2 million.<ref name="Gordy 1992" /> In total, the project had cost $16 million<ref name="nyt-1993-10-22">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Newkirk 1992">Template:Cite news</ref> or $17 million.<ref name="Leahy 1992" />
The zoo reopened on June 25, 1992; it was renamed the Queens Zoo,<ref name="New York Daily News 1992">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and it began charging an admission fee.<ref name="Leahy 1992">Template:Cite news</ref> The city planned to expand a parking area near the zoo as well,<ref name="Newkirk 1992" /> and new entrances to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park from 111th Street were built to provide more direct access to the zoo.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Even after the renovation and renaming, the Queens Zoo struggled to attract guests.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Zoological Society was renamed the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 1993, and the zoo was rebranded as the Queens Wildlife Center,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> though it continued to be known as the Queens Zoo.<ref name="Holland 1996">Template:Cite news</ref> People frequently dumped unwanted animals at the zoo after it reopened, particularly during Easter, prompting objections from WCS officials.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo had 400 animals by the mid-1990s,<ref name="Holland 1996" /> and it recorded around 180,000 annual visitors during that decade.<ref>See, for instance: Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> A Chinese alligator exhibit was added in 1997.<ref name="DeWees 1997">Template:Cite news</ref> Even after the renovation, few people knew about the Queens Zoo, especially because visitors tended to frequent the better-known Bronx and Central Park zoos.<ref name="Sanders 2001">Template:Cite news</ref>
2000s to presentEdit
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The WCS requested $950,000 from the city government for a parrot habitat in 2000,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and it requested $4.2 million from Queens borough president Claire Shulman the next year for a jaguar exhibit.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shulman ultimately provided $4.3 million from both projects.<ref name="QNS 2002 b269">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By then, the WCS had added several species to the zoo and was adding more birds to the aviary.<ref name="Parks 2000">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Rhoades 2001 x633">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo saw 200,000 annual visitors, and the WCS was hiring multilingual volunteers and printing brochures in multiple languages to attract more visitors.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> The zoo was officially renamed the Queens Zoo in May 2001 after the WCS found that visitors were confused about the "Wildlife Center" name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The same year, the barn on the domestic side was expanded.<ref name="Rhoades 2001 x633" /> Following the September 11 attacks later that year, the zoo recorded increased attendance, in part because local residents were no longer traveling far.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When the zoo celebrated the tenth anniversary of its reopening in 2002, the WCS was about to begin constructing the parrot and jaguar habitats.<ref name="QNS 2002 b269" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed eliminating funding for the Prospect Park and Queens zoos to fill a citywide budget gap,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> effectively forcing the WCS to close the zoos.<ref name="Wasserman 2003">Template:Cite news</ref> The changes would have resulted in a total savings of around $5.6 million<ref name="Colangelo 2003">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> or $5.8 million.<ref name="Wasserman 2003" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time, the Queens Zoo received $3.5 million per year, and closing the zoo would have cost $4 million;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> only about 10% of the zoo's operating costs were funded by the WCS itself.<ref name="QNS 2003 t887">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The WCS would have needed to relocate 400 animals from the zoo if it were closed.<ref name="Colangelo 2003" /> In response to the announcement, local residents signed petitions opposing the budget cuts;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> one such petition garnered more than 100,000 signatures.<ref name="English 2004">Template:Cite news</ref> There were discussions about restoring the funds in exchange for raising admission fees and introducing private sponsorships at the zoos,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the WCS also contemplated renting out the zoos for private events.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That June, the city government ultimately agreed to restore $4.8 million for the Prospect Park and Queens zoos,<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> though the WCS had to fire staff, discontinue programs, and double admission fees.<ref name="English 2004" /><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> Funding for the zoo was accidentally removed from the city's budget in 2004, though it was quickly restored.<ref name="English 2004" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
A parrot exhibit opened at the zoo in July 2004,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the prairie dog habitat was replaced two years later with a habitat for southern pudu.<ref name="Rhoades 2006 r076">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The WCS also renovated the zoo's aviary in 2006 with $640,000 from the office of borough president Helen M. Marshall.<ref name="Rhoades 2006 a840">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Though the Queens Zoo had initially focused on keeping North American animals, the zoo also included many South American animals as well by the late 2000s. This helped attract more visitors, particularly South American immigrants who lived nearby.<ref name="Colangelo 2007">Template:Cite news</ref> Robin Dalton, who had served as the zoo's director since it reopened, retired in 2006.<ref name="Rhoades 2008 l294">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo's logtime curator, Scott Silver, became its director following a two-year search.<ref name="Rhoades 2008 l294" /><ref name="Mimoni n424">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After Silver was promoted, he sought to increase visitation by completing the jaguar habitat and adding a children's playground.<ref name="Rhoades 2008 l294" /> At the time, the zoo attracted about 200,000 annual visitors, most of who came from the surrounding neighborhood.<ref name="Mimoni n424" /> In addition, three interactive exhibits were added to the Queens Zoo in 2008.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The zoo had still not constructed the jaguar habitat in 2010 due to a lack of funds.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A Wi-Fi network was added to the zoo in 2012 as part of a program to improve Wi-Fi access across New York City parks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition, borough president Melinda Katz provided $480,000 for renovations to the aviary and the overpass over the zoo's marsh.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In March 2020, the Queens Zoo and the WCS's other facilities were shuttered indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo reopened that July;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> visitors were initially required to reserve timed tickets, and the zoo's paths were temporarily converted to one-way paths to allow social distancing.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
DescriptionEdit
Template:Flushing Meadows-Corona Park map The Queens Zoo is located at 53Template:Hyphen51 111th Street within Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, near 53rd Avenue<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and west of Grand Central Parkway.<ref name="nyt-1966-07-22" /><ref name="NYCityMap">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} Search for the address "53-51 111th St, Corona, NY, 11368, USA".</ref> It operates year-round.<ref name="English 2004" /> The Queens Zoo has been operated by the Wildlife Conservation Society since its reopening in 1992,<ref name="New York Daily News 1992" /> and it is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The zoo is divided into a wild side, where animals roam around in landscaped exhibits, and a domestic side, where visitors could interact with domesticated animals.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /><ref name="QNS 2003 t887" /><ref name="Schaefer 1996">Template:Cite news</ref> One of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park's paths separates the two sides.<ref name="zoo_map" /> There is a walk-through aviary within the wild side of the zoo.<ref name="zoo_map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To the north of the zoo is the New York Hall of Science museum, while to the west is the Terrace on the Park banquet hall.<ref name="NYCityMap" /> Near the zoo's entrance are two fountains, known as the Fountain of the Planet of the Apes and the Fountain of the Grapes of Wrath.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Flushing Meadows Carousel is next to the domestic side of the zoo (originally the children's farm).<ref name="Brown 1987" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Wild sideEdit
The main zoo (now the zoo's wild side) is located on the eastern portion of the site.<ref name="zoo_map" /> The wild side originally covered Template:Convert;<ref name="nyt-1966-08-21" /><ref name="Newsday 1966" /> following the 1990s renovation, the wild side covered an oval-shaped plot of about Template:Convert.<ref name="Matsuda 2002" /><ref name="Dallas 1991" /><ref name="Kadet 2013">Template:Cite news</ref> There were originally pools and ponds throughout the zoo,<ref name="Martin 1968b" /> including a seal pool measuring Template:Convert.<ref name="Banner 1981" /> In contrast to other zoos, the Queens Zoo did not put animals in cages except when necessary.<ref name="Martin 1968b">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1056" /> Animals stayed outdoors, and dry moats and low fences surrounded each animal's enclosure.<ref name="Stern (1995) p. 1056" /><ref name="Brown 1987" /> Most animals' enclosures were designed to resemble their natural habitats.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> High chain-link fences were used for the former wolf enclosure,<ref name="Martin 1968b" /><ref name="Long 1977">Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> which also had a moat surrounding it.<ref name="nyt-1979-11-27" /> Another fence surrounded the entirety of the zoo.<ref name="Long 1977" /> The main entrance has a decorative gate by Albino Manca and Clarke & Rapuano, known as Gates of Life.<ref name="New York City Department of Parks & Recreation 2003" />
Following the 1990s renovation, the main pond was enlarged, and a marsh was added.<ref name="Dallas 1991" /><ref name="Parks 1993">Template:Cite news</ref> The wolves were removed,<ref name="Leahy 1992" /> and new exhibits were added for bears, bison, bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, prairie dogs, Roosevelt elk, sandhill cranes, and water birds.<ref name="Leahy 1992" /><ref name="Morales 1992">Template:Cite news</ref> The habitats include hidden landscape features, such as artificially warmed rocks in the mountain-lion exhibit, as well as tree stumps with sprinklers in the bison range.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> Vegetation was placed over the fences to hide them, and hills were added to several habitats to allow visitors to more easily see the animals.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> To mimic the conditions found in the wild, zookeepers hide food in landscape features such as tree trunks and logs.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> A sea lion pool and a sea lion store occupy the center of the wild side's eastern end, and there is an administration building at the southern end.<ref name="zoo_map" />
Informational signs are placed throughout the zoo.<ref name="nyt-1993-10-22" /> The modern zoo also includes a winding pathway around the perimeter of the oval path.<ref name="Leimbach 1993" /> Observation platforms lead off the pathway into several habitats.<ref name="QNS 2003 t887" /><ref name="Leimbach 1993">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, there is a "graveyard" with information about extinct species.<ref name="Kadet 2013" /><ref name="English 2003">Template:Cite news</ref>
AviaryEdit
The zoo's aviary is at the northeast corner of the wild side.<ref name="zoo_map" /> It consists of a geodesic dome designed by Thomas C. Howard for the 1964 fair,<ref name="nyt-1993-01-03" /> based on a concept by Buckminster Fuller.<ref name="Parks 1993" /> The dome was originally located on what is now the site of the Buzz Vollmer Playground in the northern section of Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.<ref name="nyt-2014-05-07">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The dome is Template:Convert wide and was one of the largest single-layer structures of its time.<ref name="nyt-1993-01-03">Template:Cite news</ref> For the fair's 1964 season, it was used as a multipurpose event facility with 2,100 seats.<ref name="nyt-2014-05-07" /> The following year, the dome became a memorial to former British prime minister Winston Churchill, with numerous artifacts from Churchill's life.<ref name="Brown 1965">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The memorial was sponsored by the nonprofit organization People to People.<ref name="Brown 1965" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The dome was dismantled and stored after the fair; it was later reassembled in the zoo with a mesh netting instead of a solid tent.<ref name="nyt-1993-01-03" />
Prior to the fair's 1965 season, there had been discussions about using the dome as an aviary after the fair.<ref name="nyt-2014-05-07" /> When the dome was reinstalled in the zoo, landscape architects Gilmore David Clarke and Michael Rapuano redesigned its interior as an aviary, while Andrews & Clark were hired as the engineers. Rocks, bushes, and trees were added inside.<ref name="nyt-1968-10-27" /> The aviary also had an asphalt walkway, as well as a Template:Convert, Template:Convert spiral bridge. Birds were allowed to fly throughout the aviary, as there were no cages.<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23" /> In the 1970s, the aviary's birds were recorded as including guinea hens, mynas, peacocks, Chinese pheasants, and quail.<ref name="nyt-1973-07-23" /> After the zoo reopened in 1992, the aviary included a walkway winding upward to the height of the trees.<ref name="nyt-1968-10-27" /><ref name="Morales 1992" /> The modern interior includes native plantings such as white pine trees,<ref name="Rhoades 2006 a840" /> and the trees are constantly pruned so visitors could see the birds there.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> The dome is covered with netting to prevent the birds from escaping. By 2006, the aviary had 90 birds from 20 species.<ref name="Rhoades 2006 a840" />
Domestic sideEdit
The western side of the zoo is dedicated to domestic animals.<ref name="zoo_map" /> Built as a children's zoo called the Heckscher Children's Farm,<ref name="Scarborough 1968" /> it was designed in the style of an American homestead.<ref name="Rabin 1985" /> When the Queens Zoo was being developed, the children's farm was supposed to contain amusement rides.<ref name="Daily News 1966a" /> At the time of its opening, the children's zoo included pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, ponies, rabbits, and ducks,<ref name="nyt-1968-02-29" /><ref name="Amon 1968" /> most of whom had been raised at the Central Park Zoo.<ref name="Amon 1968" /> There was a one-story structure that exhibited live insects;<ref name="Daily News 1967" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> at the time of its completion, the insect house was the only one in the New York City area.<ref name="Daily News 1967" /> The children's farm included a concession stand shaped like a farmhouse,<ref name="Martin 1968a" /> and a dairy house was added in the 1990s.<ref name="Queen 1991" /> By the 2000s, the domestic side of the zoo had a barn with educational programs.<ref name="Schaefer 1996" />
Events and activitiesEdit
The zoo has hosted various events over the years. For example, it has hosted the annual Bison Bonanza, with bison-themed children's activities such as face painting and storytelling.<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo has also presented children's activities during events such as the Fall Fun festival,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> International Migratory Bird Day,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Winter Breakout, Natural History Happening,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the International Harvest Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> There have been other events such as annual sheep-shearing weekends<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> and winter camps for children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the 1990s, the Queens Zoo also hosted Groundhog Day ceremonies, in which people looked at the shadows of the zoo's prairie dogs to forecast an early spring;<ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref> the practice ended in 2006 when the prairie dogs were relocated.<ref name="Rhoades 2006 r076" /> In addition, the zoo hosts classes, and high-school students help operate the zoo's education and animal-care programs.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These programs are provided in several languages.<ref name="Schaefer 1996" />
AnimalsEdit
The zoo is home to as many as 112 species as of 2013,<ref name="Kadet 2013" /> which are native to both North and South America.<ref name="Colangelo 2007" /> Initially, the zoo only housed animals that were native to North America.<ref name="nyt-1966-08-21" /><ref name="Daily News 1966b" /> According to park commissioner August Heckscher, the zoo could keep only North American animals because it operated throughout the year and because all the exhibits were outdoors.<ref name="Cohn 1968" /> The animals at the zoo also do not migrate south during the winter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo's menagerie still focused on North American species after its 1990s renovation,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but it has since expanded to include other species such as South American spectacled bears<ref name="Parks 2000" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and American alligators. There is a small clinic for injured and sick animals; the clinic at the Bronx Zoo handles more serious injuries or illnesses.<ref name="Sanders 2001" /> As part of a WCS program, almost all of the zoo's animals undergo animal enrichment training.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Originally, the zoo's animals included bears, wolves, bison, raccoons, otters, and waterfowl.<ref name="nyt-1968-10-27" /> After the zoo's 1990s renovation, it had 250 animals from 40 species,<ref name="Morales 1992" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and species such as cougars, Roosevelt elk, and prairie dogs were added for the first time.<ref name="Dallas 1991" /> The zoo's menagerie had grown to 400 animals by 2001.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The zoo is home to Andean bears, pumas, California sea lions, coyotes, burrowing owls, Canadian lynxes, Southern pudus, thick-billed parrots, American alligators, American bison, trumpeter swans, bald eagles, great horned owls, snowy owls, and Chacoan peccaries.<ref name="zoo_map" />
The zoo breeds Andean bears as part of a program to preserve the species; the first Andean bear was born at the zoo in 2017,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and eight Andean bears have been born there Template:As of.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The zoo has had breeding programs for Southern pudu since 2005,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> pronghorn antelopes since 2008,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and New England cottontail rabbits since 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There is also a breeding program for Puerto Rican crested toads.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several animals have been rescued and resettled at the zoo, including a coyote caught in Central Park,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> two lion cubs rescued from Montana,<ref name="English 2003" /> and five coyote pups rescued from Massachusetts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}; {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ReceptionEdit
When the zoo opened, a reviewer for the New York Daily News said that "the city's latest animal farm is small...and beautiful".<ref name="Martin 1968b" /> The same writer said in 1969 that "we vote it as one of the most beautiful" attractions in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, particularly praising the aviary and the seal pool.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Newsday wrote in 1977 that "the Queens Zoo may strike visitors as a sylvan paradise", especially as compared with the cages in the Central Park Zoo, because animals at the Queens Zoo were allowed to roam around.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> By the late 1970s, the zoo's decline led one local politician to describe the Flushing Meadows Zoo as a "poor man's zoo",<ref name="nyt-1979-11-27" /> while Newsday remarked that the zoo "scarcely attracts Flushing citizens out for a walk", let alone tourists.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Just before the zoo's renovation in 1987, Newsday wrote that the zoo was "a quiet, well-kept and surprisingly natural haven", despite the presence of the nearby Grand Central Parkway.<ref name="Brown 1987" />
After the zoo reopened in 1992, Sarah Lyall of The New York Times said: "The Queens Zoo isn't the old Noah's Ark hodgepodge [...] but is rather a modest but carefully chosen collection of 40 species from North America."<ref name="nyt-1993-10-22" /> Another Times writer, Dulcie Leimbach, described the zoo as "a comfortable yet exotic visit" and likened the landscape to a wooded backyard.<ref name="Leimbach 1993" /> A Newsday writer described the zoo's new design as evoking "a natural rather than a zoo setting".<ref name="Parks 1993" /> A New York Daily News reporter wrote in 1996 that "you're sure to feel at home on this range" because of the zoo's activities and animals.<ref name="Schaefer 1996" /> A writer for the Poughkeepsie Journal likened the zoo to a national park in 2007,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and one writer for The Wall Street Journal described the zoo in 2013 as "a romantic paradise of tall trees, flowering shrubs and rocky outcroppings disturbed only by the roar of the Grand Central Parkway."<ref name="Kadet 2013" /> A New York Times writer characterized the aviary as the "most charming (and definitely the chirpiest) oasis in the park".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>