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For the third time since October, the red blip on top of the New York State Pavilion in the heart of Flushing Meadows Corona Park flickered out last week – and the Parks Department has deferred responsibility for its repair, putting the burden on a private entity established to build playgrounds, not change light bulbs.

The FAA-mandated light on top of the 226-foot tower went dead on Thursday, just before a massive Nor’easter storm slammed into the area over the weekend bringing heavy rain and dark skies.

The Parks Department said in an e-mail that Unisphere, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, will pay for the $15,000 repair. This will include the cost of labor and the installment of LED technology, which is supposed to make the light last longer, a spokeswoman said.

The Parks Department is unable to access the top of the towers by foot because years of deterioration have made the interior stairs unsafe. In order to fix the bulb, mountain climbers have been brought in to scale the towers by rope.

Unisphere, Inc. “was formed to help the park raise funds to bolster and expand the current programs that are offered in the park,” according to the organization’s Web site. Of the $282,000 the organization has raised since it was founded, it has spent more than $30,000 to replace the FAA light atop the tower.

According to Unisphere’s federal tax filing, the organization’s primary exempt purpose is “to promote and encourage the organization and establishment of parks and playgrounds… and to establish, equip and maintain recreational places and playgrounds for the public.”

In describing itself as a public-private partnership, Unisphere’s federal filing goes on to explain that this new paradigm “allows the Parks Department to focus its limited resources and budgets on acquisition, upkeep and stewarding capital projects while allowing interested private constituents to fund ideas that could never be accomplished with the limited dollars to go around.”

“Unisphere, Inc. and the Parks Department have consulted on this issue and are in full agreement on paying for the conversion to better technology,” Parks spokeswoman Abby Lootens said. “This is one of the principle virtues of a public/private partnership.”

In December, Parks blamed high winds for extinguishing the light just a month after it was fixed. Unisphere paid for that repair as well, which cost $12,000.

The October fix came after the light atop the tower had been out for at least two months. Park Administrator Estelle Cooper had not told Queens Deputy Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski about the burned out bulb until the two were together at a meeting in the offices of the Queens Tribune.

David Oats, president of the Flushing Meadows Corona Park World’s Fair Association, said it’s absurd that nearly $30,000 has been spent so far on fixing a light bulb.

He also said that given the recent bad weather, the light, which alerts pilots of a tall structure ahead, becomes even more imperative. He said it should have been fixed immediately, despite stormy conditions that might have kept the team of rope climbers from scampering to the top.

“It’s not an excuse the weather is bad,” he said on Monday. “‘The weather is bad’ is exactly why that light should be on.”

He emphasized that if the building was maintained, the staircase would provide access to the light and make changing it a less extraordinary process.

The FAA confirmed that Parks reported the missing light, and a notice was issued to pilots. Parks has until April 27 to fix the problem.