Animals In The Parks

A couple of metal birds sit on their perch in Eloy Alfaro Delgado Square. (Inset): The Quick Brown Fox sits patiently in Maspeth. Tribune photo by Theresa Juva

By Theresa Juva

There are pocket-sized parks all over Queens, and besides providing a splash of green, they are also home to fun—and often hidden—pieces of art and history. These mini spaces often feature animal figurines that tell a story or illustrate a theme.

A penguin statue in a waddle stance can be found on the median of 75th Street between 37th Avenue and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights and gives a big clue about the community. The neighborhood has a large Argentine population, so the penguin is a symbol of one of the country’s most beloved animals.

Of the 800 Greenstreets scattered throughout the borough, some are filled with sculptures of foxes, dragons, squirrels and birds that most hurrying Queensites never notice.

It’s called a square, but the slab of street named after Eloy Alfaro Delgado is a triangle of shrubs and mulch dedicated to the great Ecuadorian general. Located where Elmhurst Avenue, 37th Avenue and 94th Street meet in Jackson Heights, the triangle received its name last summer during the annual Ecuadorian pride parade, which draws thousands of people from the neighborhood.

Tribune photo by Ira Cohen

Delgado served as president of Ecuador at the turn of the 20th century and is credited with separating church from state, legalizing divorce and building public schools. In 1912, he was killed by his adversaries who dragged his mutilated body through the streets. Today, he is considered a national hero and the most important leader in Ecuadorian history.

Mirroring the avian diversity of Ecuador, which houses 1,600 species of birds, the square features several bird sculptures. The metal figurines are perched on rocks, and with a quick glance, a passerby might mistake them for their real feathered friends that line a traffic light wire overhead.

The foxiest place in Queens can be found in Maspeth at the Quick Brown Fox Triangle. Named after the pangram, “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog,” the green patch pays tribute to the typewriting test that includes every letter in the alphabet. A bushy-tailed bronzed sculpture keeps perky watch over the small sanctuary that offers a reprieve from the rush of traffic on the nearby Long Island Expressway.

The triangle was acquired by the City in 1957, and restored in 2001 with a $600,000 donation from former Councilwoman Karen Kozlowitz.