City Plans Playground, Turf Upgrades On Manhattan's East Side

EAST VILLAGE, NY — The Parks Department is planning some $28 million in upgrades to various parks and playgrounds amid the ongoing public review of the city's proposed coastal flooding and sea level rise protection project that also requires closing the East River Park for 3.5 years, the department said.

The upgrades include a variety of improvements — from some entirely new or revamped public space to improvements to existing parks and playgrounds.

Some of the changes are a part of the department's in-house projects to mitigate when the East River Park would close for 3.5 years during the $1.45 billion resiliency project that was overhauled last fall, which has outraged many locals. Other projects have already been a part of the city's plans, like the recent opening of Pier 35 and to-be-completed open space at Pier 42.

The exact timeline, among other details, for much of these projects listed below remain to be seen.

Parks says the department will execute the plans "quickly."

"Responsive to the community's need for supplemental [recreation] during the forthcoming $1.45B flood protection and park improvement project at East River Park, we have been working to identify opportunities to create and enhance neighborhood Parks spaces and amenities so they are available for community use during the park closure," Parks spokeswoman Crystal Howard said.

The massive resiliency project, called the East Side Coastal Resiliency project, is currently in the public review process, with additional meetings slated for June.

Hundreds of pages in documents in the draft environmental impact statement were released in April.

Previously, the city has said it plans to demolish the LaGuardia Bathhouse and replace it with synthetic turf by the fall or winter for a passive, neighborhood picnic-area, the department said. It will be open by March 2020, the department said — which is the month when the resiliency project would break ground if approved by the City Council.

The Baruch Bathhouse is expected to be made into a community center — a transformation that has been in the works since at least last March.

Pier 42 is another open space that would partially go online by 2021, the Parks Department said. A complete transformation of Pier 42 has been riddled with delays for years, but a passive open space in the upland area of the pier will be open by 2021, Parks said. The Economic Development Corporation is looking into whether the pier itself could be used for recreation sooner than the full master plan, according to Parks.

Here are some additional improvements to existing parks and playgrounds, totaling some $28 million:

New synthetic turf at:

• LaGuardia Bathhouse (not for sports use) on the Lower East Side
• St. Vartans Park in Murray Hill
• Tompkins Square Park in the East Village
• Tanahey Playground in Two Bridges
• Robert Moses Playground

New sports coating at existing sports sites:

• Tanahey Playground's basketball courts in Two Bridges
• Coleman Playgrounds's spray shower area in the Lower East Side
• Sara D. Roosevelt Park at the Pit near the Bowery
• Alfred E. Smith Playground's spray showers in Two Bridges
• Alfred E. Smith Recreation Center's basketball courts in Two Bridges
• St. Vartan's Park's basketball courts in Murray Hill
• Columbus Park's sports areas in Chinatown

To see some of the overview of where within the parks synthetic turf will be added, as well as what updated sports coating would look like, check out a recent city presentation below.

Sixteen playgrounds will get paint upgrades — though locations have yet to be announced.

Some 1,000 trees will be planted as well as 40 rain gardens installed throughout Community Boards 3 and 6, with plantings beginning this fall, the department said. CB 3 voted in support of such a tree canopy concept after a community activist pitched the idea earlier this year.

More than 40 solar-powered lights will be purchased to extend play-time during the spring and fall when days are shorter at ballfields — with locations to be announced.

Six barbecue grills will be added at Coleman Park, and the grills at Al Smith Recreation Center will be replaced.

Dry Dock Pool is also getting a makeover. The city will add lounge chairs, cabana-style shade structures, plantings, and other poolside activities this year, the Parks Department said.

For tennis-lovers, the city says other options include Randall's Island, John Jay Park, and Sutton East Tennis Club's courts near Queensboro Oval, the latter which will be open for summertime use.

Here's a map of where these changes are located:

See the city's most recent presentation to Community Board 3 below:

Parks Department Presentation To Manhattan CB3, May 16, 2019 by Sydney Pereira on Scribd