Cunningham Park is a 358-acre (1.4 km2) park located in the borough of Queens in the New York City borough of New York. A section of the park is divided by the Clearview Expressway, which runs between the Grand Central Parkway to the south and the Long Island Expressway to the north. The Department of Parks and Recreation of the City of New York is in charge of running the park.
Joplin, MO area, was destroyed by the historic EF-5 tornado that ravaged the city on May 22, 2011. But according to meteorologists, the twister’s intensity was at its peak in downtown Cunningham Park, which had served as a respite from the city’s bustling streets for more than a century. Aside from tennis and basketball courts, the park also had playground equipment, picnic pavilions, a walking track, and a pool, but the tornado destroyed everything, leaving the city of Joplin without its cherished park at a time when it desperately needed it the most.
Fortunately, donations flooded in from all around the country, including large corporate sponsorships from Coca-Cola and Walmart, as well as a contribution from the hit ABC show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Construction crews began work on the park’s restoration and the construction of a memorial to the 170,000 volunteers who contributed to the city’s rebuilding last October.
An attractive reflecting pool now occupies the space once occupied by the original playground, and the swimming pool now boasts a variety of slides and other interesting waterpark-style elements. The newly renovated and expanded park now has an upgraded playground system with more interactive features, and the storm’s long-lasting consequences are recognized with a volunteer homage as well as a memorial to the 161 persons who lost their lives in the tornado.
There may be a butterfly garden and an overlook with storyboards describing the storm’s impact on downtown, as well as additional parking to accommodate the thousands of people who come each day.
Because of the large number of donations that have been given to the destroyed community, city officials have announced plans to construct a new neighborhood park in the area. Residents of Joplin now have a place to rest, ponder, and enjoy the absolute best of their revitalized neighborhood, thanks to Cunningham Park’s renovation, which took place less than a year and a half after it was destroyed.