Vanderbilt Cup Races

How immensely rewarding to see so much of the LIMP preserved for posterity!  May Nassau and Suffolk now follow suit, as Queens and NYC Parks & Recreation have done an outstanding job with their section of the roadway.

A key piece of my “Motor Parkway” of my youth. So looking forward to exploring it once again when my son Gram returns in a few weeks. He just graduated top of his class in Auto Restoration from Penn College and his childhood explorations of the Vanderbilt were key to fueling his early passion for all things related to automobiles.

Great to see NYC recognizing the Motor Parkway.  Howard - is the original historical marker still there? Unfortunately I would imagine the repaving caused some parts of the original Motor Parkway to be removed forever - such as the piece of roadway before going over Winchester Avenue that showed the roadway under the original paved roadway.  I’m hoping Phase II will not damage the posts south of the ball fields shown below.

Howard,
It looks GREAT!!!  OK, now let’s have a race.
Rog

Lovely, thanks so much!

Howard,  I’m personally disappointed with what the City has done to the Motor Parkway ROW in Queens. Do they plan to leave any portion of the ORIGINAL pavement with the concrete extensions exposed ?, I doubt it. They can’t even get the name right. Among other errors, they still have Pope responsible for 12 toll lodges. For years I’ve been pointing out some of the errors they have made on the historical markers. When the City puts up an historical marker on that portion on the original Motor Parkway ROW between Francis Lewis Blvd. and Rte. 295…, somebody let me know, some of the original pavement is still there, just on the west side of 295.

Al,  all the new historic markers are correct. The construction sign was likely based on the contract bid. Not sure if they replaced the old historic markers that are located in Phase II of the project

I informed NYC parks that the road should always be Long Island Motor Parkway.  They have added the correct signage to the bridges.

The original LIMP that’s in the wooded area between Francis Lewis and Rte 295, being that it’s not part of the exercise path and became forgotten by most ( except us ), I don’t feel that section is in any danger. They should just work along the path that’s between the wooded area and the ball fields.

While the new paving looks great, it is a little disappointing to not be able to see any remaining original pavement.

Howard, The new historical marker-“What became of the Long Island Motor Parkway” is not technically correct. There were five government agencies, not three, that took over the Motor Parkway ROW in 1938 with Robert Moses authorized to represent the recipients. Suffolk County, Nassau County with the exception of that portion of the ROW between Marcus Ave, and New Hyde Park Rd. which was dedicated to the Long Island State Park Commission and that portion of the ROW through Bethpage Park which was acquired by the Bethpage Park Authority. The NYC section was taken over directly by the New York City Parks Dept….. Guess who was the Parks Commissioner at the time. (Moses, on more than one occasion, made it clear that the Motor Parkway ROW would never be used for automobile traffic again.) Also, again a minor error, portions of the ROW were not “turned” over to utilities companies bu purchased at market rates.

I rode this section last week, great job and a BIG Thank You to all involved.

I, too, wonder what’s happened to the signage created by myself and the Parks Department librarian.  Haven’t had a chance to go out there and see.  Rebuilding looks beautiful.

Nice restoration. Speaking of the toll lodge—are the toll day pass receipts relatively rare? Haven’t seen any others besides the one below.

http://longislandmotorparkway.com/img/limp1.jpg

After reading the comments, both positive and negative, I have to admire how that stretch of road has been preserved.  Howard, you’ve done a fantastic job of encouraging the restoration.  Otherwise, it’s possible that it could be lost forever if nothing was done to preserve the road.
Thanks for your dedication.
Rog

The 22-foot wide reconstructed LIMP roadway IS an advancement towards improving escalating Brooklyn-Queens Greenway activities. However, leaving the two original 3-foot extensions in place would have better preserved the historic Motor Parkway with actual artifacts. Phase 1 construction (0.8 miles) lasted months, but Phase 2 (2.0 miles) will be longer. I suspect they’ll be an attempt to level off the steep hill just east of the Clearview Expwy. I doubt the original Motor Parkway Right-of-Way (west of the Clearview Expwy) will ever be disturbed, as per Brian McCarthy.

Thank you Howard and Roz for updating the LIMP community.