Flushing Leaders Celebrate $5.8M Bowne Playground Revamp

FLUSHING, QUEENS — Flushing leaders joined the city's parks department Thursday to fete the grand reopening of Bowne Playground after a $5.8 million overhaul.

The renovations, which wrapped up in April, include new play equipment and swings, basketball and handball courts and a spray shower.

New eco-friendly infrastructure throughout the playground will help manage stormwater runoff to reduce flooding and improve the health of the nearby Flushing Creek, officials said.

"Every summer, Bowne Playground is packed with people who have to make the most out of the worn down equipment and crumbling infrastructure," City Council Member Peter Koo said in a statement. "Today our entire community is ecstatic to see downtown Flushing's flagship recreational space finally get a much needed upgrade."

Funding came from Mayor Bill de Blasio's community parks initiative, which he launched in 2014 with a press conference in Bowne Playground.

The project has since invested $318 million in capital funding to overhaul 67 city parks located in densely-populated neighborhoods with high poverty rates, according to a parks department spokesperson.

Located on Union Street next to P.S. 20, the playground honors the late state senator and New York City mayor Walter Bowne.