Gowanus Playground Will Get Long-Awaited $3 Million Makeover

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — One of the neighborhood's few pubic parks is getting a much anticipated reboot that will bring new greenery and play areas to the underutilized park.

Workers stuck shovels in the ground at Ennis Playground — a mostly concrete park sandwiched between 11th and 12th streets near Second Avenue — Tuesday for a more than $3 million upgrade of the dilapidated green space.

The complete redesign will feature new basketball courts, swings, separate play structures for tots and bigger kids, benches, a spray fountain and a swath of artificial turf.

A shaded seating area will separate the play spaces from the turf field, which will be surrounded by a paved path. Trees and other plants will pepper the edge of the green space to transform what was once drab concrete into a lush multi-purpose play area, according to the Parks Department.

The city will also plant gardens and install an underground system to sop up stormwater — a way to prevent pollutants from running off into the toxic Gowanus Canal amid its ongoing cleanup.

Ennis Playground is expected to re-open next summer.

The lead image is a conceptual rendering of the project released during the renovation's early design stages. The secondary image of a current project schematic. (Images courtesy of the Parks Department)