Carroll Gardens' St. Mary's Park Reopens After Nearly A Decade

CARROLL GARDENS, NY — A long barren park that sat empty on Smith Street for nearly a decade reopened this week, officials said.

St. Mary's Playground — underneath the F and G tracks on Smith Street — opened to the public this week after a $2.7 million renovation project that started last year, the Parks Department said.

The renovated playground, between Huntington and Nelson streets, got a basketball court, skate park, new play equipment, spray showers, tables and more as part of the work, the city said.

St. Mary's Playground was bulldozed in 2009 by the MTA as part of work to the section F and G line above the park. MTA officials pledged $850,000 to restore the spot, but it was less than a third of what was needed to bring it back.

Councilman Brad Lander and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams stepped in with an extra $1.85 million to get the project off the ground and construction started in August.

"It has taken a long time," Lander previously told Patch. "But it's great finally to be here."

Image: Marc Torrence/Patch