La Guardia Playground in Williamsburg to Receive Full Reconstruction

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A south Williamsburg playground has been added to a $285 million city initiative to rebuild and renovate neglected New York City parks.

La Guardia Playground, on S. 4 St. between Roebling St. and the Williamsburg Bridge ramp, was one of nine parks selected Monday for inclusion in the Community Parks Initiative, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver announced. As a result, the playground will receive a full-scale redesign and reconstruction.
"The Community Parks Initiative means needed green for green space in communities that need it across the city -- and it's great to add nine more parks to that list," Senator Daniel Squadron, who represents New York's 26th Senate District, said in a statement . "New Yorkers are seeing important progress to address inequities in our neighborhood parks, including CPI and the ongoing voluntary $15 million commitment from the City's eight largest conservancies to parks in need. I'm proud to continue this progress along with the City, and I thank the City, Commissioner Silver, Parks Department, and my colleagues in government."

LaGuardia Playground which currently hosts a handball court, playground and spray showers has gone will receive upgrades to be determined at community meetings. The upgrades may include the park fixtures, planting trees and updating facilities.

The Community Parks Initiative was launched in 2014 to improve historically overlooked small parks in growing neighborhoods with greater than average rates of poverty, according to the announcement. The program is funded through the mayor's office. Since selecting 35 sites for inclusion into the initiative in 2014, the program has expanded to include more parks every year, according to the announcement.

The eight other parks to receive inclusion in the Community Parks Initiative are as follows:

Bronx

• Garrison Playground
• Playground 174
• Playground 134
• Plimpton Playground

Brooklyn

• La Guardia Playground
• Weeksville Playground

Manhattan

• Abraham Lincoln Playground
• Audubon Playground

Queens

• Almeda Playground

“For health, for relaxation, and for happiness, great neighborhoods need the great neighborhood spaces the Community Parks Initiative creates,” parks commissioner Mitchell J. Silver said in a statement. “This is why CPI is not only an investment in parks – it’s an investment in the wellbeing of millions of New Yorkers for generations to come.”

Lead image courtesy of NYC Parks.