Alley Pond Park

Alley Pond Park
Alley Pond Park
	Alley Pond Environmental Center (APEC)
Type	Public park
Location	Bordering Douglaston and Bayside in New York City
Coordinates	40°45′30″N 73°44′50″W / 40.75833°N 73.74722°W
Area	655.294 acres (265.188 ha)
Operated by	New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
Status	Operating
Parking	200 spaces

Alley Pond Park is the second-largest public park in Queens, New York City, occupying 655.3 acres (265.2 ha). The park is bordered to the east by Douglaston, to the west by Bayside, to the north by Little Neck Bay, and to the south by Union Turnpike. The Cross Island Parkway travels north-south through the park, while the Long Island Expressway and Grand Central Parkway travel east-west through the park. The park primarily consists of woodlands south of the Long Island Expressway and meadowlands north of the expressway. It is run and operated by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Alley Pond Park was mostly acquired and cleared by the city in 1929, as authorized by a resolution of the New York City Board of Estimate in 1927. The park contains the Queens Giant, a tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) that is the tallest carefully measured tree in New York City and possibly the oldest living thing in the New York metropolitan area. The Alley Pond Environmental Center (APEC), with a library, museum and animal exhibits, is located in the northern part of the park, on the south side of Northern Boulevard.