Overview
Sculpture Specifications
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"Queens, The World's Borough" is the title of the sculpture.
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The dimensions will be approximately 6 feet high x 22 feet wide x 1.5 feet deep.
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The font will be American Typewriter, which is the font used by the I❤️NY campaign.
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The colors will be based on the Queens Flag: blue (RGB 0, 132, 255), red (RGB 199, 5, 7) and white (RGB 255, 255, 255).
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The large 3D letters that spell "Queens" will be in blue.
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The descender tail at the bottom right of the letter "Q" extends below the line of the base letters "ueens".
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A red rectangular base will support the letters "ueens".
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The white tagline, "The World's Borough", will be centered on the red rectangular base.
Fabricator's Recommendations
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The sculpture's 6 feet height is the largest recommended size so that it can easily fit into a truck to be transported.
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The total weight of the statue is estimated to be about 2,000 pounds.
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The sculpture will be in 3 sections: "Qu", "ee" and "ns".
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The letters, "The World's Borough", will be attached to both sections of the base.
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The letters and base will be constructed of steel sheet metal and welded together.
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The finish work includes bodywork, grinding, hard coating, primer and paint. The coating will be outdoor grade, Polyurea ULXT66, hard coating. The paint will be outdoor latex paint. The finish will be durable and weather resistant.
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The base will securely bolted into the concrete pavement with Tapcon concrete screws.
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Timeline for design, fabrication, finish and shipping is about 2-3 months.
MacDonald Park
The location for statue is MacDonald Park, Forest Hills at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and Yellowstone Boulevard. It is in the heart of Forest Hills at the crossroads of 2 major boulevards and near one of the major destination and transportation hubs of Queens.
WhiteClouds
WhiteClouds specializes in large outdoor sculptures that are secure, safe and resistant to weather. They are experienced in manufacturing large outdoor 3D letter sculptures such as the one we are proposing. They will be the fabricator of the Queens sculpture.
Team, Volunteers and Supporters
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Larry Ng - Originator of the idea, project lead and Forest Hills resident.
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Alek Turkmen - 3D artist and engineer, Cooper Union engineering student.
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Kevin Sanichara - Forest Hills resident and community volunteer. Launched GoFundMe and Instagram campaign for the project.
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Stephen Melnick - Founder of Friends of MacDonald Park.
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Edwin Wong - Founder of Forest Hills Asian Association, Board Member of Community Board 6.
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Leslie Brown - President, Forest Hills Chamber of Commerce.
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Rob MacKay - Queens Tourism Council, Director; Queens Economic Development Corporation, Deputy Director, Community.
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Michael Perlman - Founder of Rego-Forest Preservation Council, author, news columnist and historian.
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Ken Voisin - Volunteer to provide music and live performance for the sculpture's dedication event.
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Louis Kent - Volunteer photographer for dedication event.
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Queens Rising and Queens College School of Arts - Volunteer performers for dedication event.
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Queensboro Dance Festival - Volunteer dance performers for the dedication event.
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Randy Naraine - Volunteer musical consultant (@passportpianist).
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Sabrina Chau - Student Volunteer, LaGuardia High School (Sophomore).
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Chloe Huang - Student Volunteer, LaGuardia High School (Sophomore).
Updates
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September 6, 2024. NYC Department of Parks & Recreation approved "Queens, The World's Borough" at MacDonald Park for their Art in the Parks program. The tentative exhibition date for the sculpture is March 20, 2025 (1st day of Spring). The exhibit will be at MacDonald Park for a year, to be followed by other Queens locations in the future.
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October 31, 2024. Signed agreement with WhiteClouds Inc., the fabricator of Queens, The World's Borough.
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November 30, 2024. Out of the $50,000 estimated budget for the project, $45,000 (or 90%) has already been raised or pledged by a sponsor and private donors. The remaining $5,000 balance will be raised from the community through a GoFundMe campaign.
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December 2024. Launched Instagram social media outreach.
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January 21, 2025. The design has been finalized and approved. Fabrication begins. See photos.
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February 1, 2024. 98% of the funds have been raised. All donors have been listed on the website. Thank you to Northwell Health for their generous support and being the Official Sponsor for the project.
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February 14, 2025. The dedication date for the sculpture will be Saturday, March 22, 2025 at 11:00 AM at MacDonald Park at the corner of Queens Boulevard and Yellowstone Boulevard. There will be a dedication ceremony, music, drinks, snacks, photo ops and other fun things to do. Everyone is welcome!
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March 12, 2025. Queens, The World's Borough 3D letter sculpture fabrication completed.