Astoria Park May Be Home to Ski Slope This Winter

Ski lovers looking to hit the slopes may not have to look any farther than Queens.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. says Astoria Park will soon be home to a ski slope. The program, from the City Parks Foundation, would be the first of its kind for the group.

The slope is well known to Vallone, who says he grew up sledding down that hill and holds his annual 4th of July picnics there.

“It's a very large sloped hill which overlooks the East River and the skyline of New York City, so it's just a gorgeous place to be and this will make it great year round,” Vallone said.

The local community board has already given approval to the project, but it's still in its beginning stages. Issues like insurance, funding and noise still need to be worked out, and Vallone said the it might not be in place until late January, early February, or even March

The proposal — first reported in DNAinfo — would include free ski lessons for children and is not supposed to cost the city anything. Sugarbush Resort, a ski operator in Vermont, is slated to provide the lessons and the snow, but multiple calls to the company were not returned.