Longstanding Mystery: The Penguin

[RandeeDawn]

This may be a mystery only to me, but I swear I can't figure it out.

Why is there a mini-statue of a penguin adhered to a large boulder on Elm Plaza at 75th Street and (almost) Roosevelt Avenue? What does it signify? What is its history? Is it honoring the long-ago ice age when penguins and glaciers ruled the Jackson Heights area?

(I'm only approximate with the location, but I think y'all will know what I mean.)

[Shelby2]

I researched this last year and still had the info on my computer:

From the NY Times in 2001:
 
Maria Terrone was crossing 75th Street at 37th Avenue recently when she came across an arctic bird on a boulder. "It seemed kind of incongruous," she said. "Why is there a penguin in Jackson Heights? "

She figured the penguin, which is three feet tall and made of bronze, might have been placed there by the city's Parks Department because it was standing on a median newly planted with trees and shrubs. But there was no sign explaining its presence in the middle of a busy street.

As it turns out, a window from City Councilman John D. Sabini's office looks out onto the penguin. He was tired of seeing drivers whip U-turns across the street's low-rise concrete divider. So he asked the Parks Department, which has jurisdiction over a three-block stretch of the median between 37th Avenue and Broadway, to install a raised bed of plantings to beautify the area and keep drivers in line.

Parks complied. The bird was Commissioner Henry J. Stern's embellishment. He wanted an animal presence on the median but a species that would complement the neighborhood. He knew that many Argentine immigrants were in the area, so he picked the penguin, which is known to waddle pompously through the southern part of that country.
Mr. Stern had planned to install a flamingo sculpture on the other end of the three-block median, at 75th Street and Broadway, but feared that a car might mangle its slender leg. So he put in another penguin.

When told of the commissioner's reasoning, Mr. Sabini belly-laughed. "What was the flamingo for?" he asked. "To satisfy the local Floridians?"

Ms. Terrone worried that the water-loving penguins might have landed in a hostile clime. "There's not a lake or a pond in Jackson Heights," she said.

[RandeeDawn]

Oh, my word, that was godlike. Thank you SO much!

Not that it makes much more sense now, but at least I know where my tax dollars are going.

THANKS!

[Shelby2]

Here are some photos of the penguin
http://flickr.com/photos/65167356@N00/165786052/in/photostream/
http://flickr.com/photos/65167356@N00/165786069/in/photostream/

[spaceboy]

Legend says that if Jackson Heights was ever in danger our Penguin Guardian would awaken and destroy our enemies... he would also waddle.

either that or what Shelby said...

[lex]

Hey watch out, that Penguin has mad skills, I could swear I saw him moving on my way home one night, although that could have been the vindaloo....

[Aronan]

Great bit of research and an entertaining story... one correction however. Unless I have my facts wrong.

John Sabini is the State Senator representing our area. Helen Sears, whose office is on 75th st. is our City Council representative.

[KC]

Great bit of research and an entertaining story... one correction however. Unless I have my facts wrong.

John Sabini is the State Senator representing our area. Helen Sears, whose office is on 75th st. is our City Council representative.

John Sabini was our City Council rep before becoming State Senator.   

Legend says that if Jackson Heights was ever in danger our Penguin Guardian would awaken and destroy our enemies... he would also waddle.

That just can't be true.  Helen Sears has been our city council rep for two terms, has sent money designated to our district elsewhere, and is generally clueless about the community.  And I've never seen the Penguin Guardian waddle. 

[spaceboy]

That just can't be true.  Helen Sears has been our city council rep for two terms, has sent money designated to our district elsewhere, and is generally clueless about the community.  And I've never seen the Penguin Guardian waddle. 

Oh Penguin Guardian, why hast thou forsaken us?!

[spaceboy]

Anyone else notice the penguin is gone?

[causidicus]

Where is the penguin at Broadway and 75th Street?  Was it stolen?  Ever since the Elmurst penguin vanished, the Jackson Heights one has been looking rather lonely.

[Chuckster]

I can't believe this!     First the Scrabble sign goes missing....now the penguin?

[liam0925]

                                                                                                                   
Did our penguins march away? The penguins came to us as "Commissioner Henry J. Stern's embellishment. He wanted an animal presence on the median but a species that would complement the neighborhood. He knew that many Argentine immigrants were in the area, so he picked the penguin, which is known to waddle pompously through the southern part of that country." Waddle? Is that a poor attempt at the Tango?  Are they doing the Tango elsewhere?  Are there clues to be found at the other end of the link or is this meant for a lazy Sunday afternoon laugh?

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/10/yep_penguins_and_clay_aiken_ar.php   

[Marlene]

Forget Beyounce let's do the Penguin Boogie Wonderland Dance and there is a latin penguin!
And the latin penguin calls himself "el pinguino mas cool".

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1252786457/

[liam0925]

Could anyone use any adjective but "cool" to describe that dance.  No wonder our guys flew the coop!