Bloomingdale Playground

NYC PARKS EQUITY INITIATIVE CELEBRATES MILESTONE WITH RIBBON CUTTING AT BLOOMINGDALE PLAYGROUND

$7.1 million reconstruction of Bloomingdale Playground is the 45th Community Parks Initiative project completed

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, joined Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Council Member Mark Levine, P.S. 145 The Bloomingdale School Principal Dr. Natalia Russo, West Prep Academy Principal Carland Washington, Community Board 7 Inclusive Playground Task Force Chair Catherine Delazzero, Community Board 7 Member and Friends of Bloomingdale Playground President Sheldon Fine, the West Prep Academy Marching Band, the P.S. 145 Chorus and community members on Friday, November 15 to cut the ribbon on the reconstruction of Bloomingdale Playground—the 45th project completed through the Community Parks Initiative (CPI), the City’s first-ever parks equity initiative.

“As our 45th completed Community Parks Initiative project, Bloomingdale Playground marks significant progress in our work to create a more equitable park system,” said Commissioner Silver. “Like all of our Community Parks Initiative sites, the renovated playground is a reflection of the creative visions and ideas of the community it serves. By completely reconstructing the playground and comfort station to make them accessible and inclusive, updating the basketball courts, and adding new features and green infrastructure, we have transformed Bloomingdale Playground into an asset for the surrounding neighborhood.”

“I’m proud to have contributed funding to this renovation of Bloomingdale Playground,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “It’s said that parks are New York City’s ‘lungs’ and keeping them clean must be a priority for city government.”

“From the beginning, Bloomingdale Playground has been the inspiration of Upper West Side parents and Community Board 7 members who all have had a powerful vision of an inclusive park where children of all ability levels can play together effortlessly,” said District 7 City Council Member Mark Levine. “The new Bloomingdale Park is the gold standard of their inclusive vision and marks a revolution in the way this City conceptualizes children play-spaces. This beautiful new playground is not just ADA accessible but also goes much further than that in its design to encourage play between children of all types of mental and physical levels. I could not be more proud of the work the community has put into this project and that I was able to contribute to its completion.”

Bloomingdale Playground—part of the Community Parks Initiative, NYC Parks’ commitment to addressing equity across the five boroughs—was completely redesigned to accommodate children of all ages and abilities. The playground now features new children’s play areas with swings, safety surfacing, and equipment that meets or exceeds all playground safety and ADA accessibility requirements. The project also added a new synthetic turf field that can be used for general play and as a gathering and performance space; an upgraded ADA compliant comfort station; new basketball courts; adult fitness equipment; new benches and other site furnishings; and a reconstructed spray shower. Additionally, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) partnered with NYC Parks to provide support for green infrastructure improvements.

The $5.6 million playground reconstruction project was funded with $4.8 million from Mayor Bill de Blasio, which includes $340,000 from DEP, as well as $600,000 from Council Member Mark Levine and $180,000 from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer. The $1.5 million comfort station reconstruction project was funded with $1.4 million from Mayor Bill de Blasio and $42,000 from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, the Community Parks Initiative (CPI) strives to build a more equitable parks system by investing in under resourced parks that are located in densely populated and growing neighborhoods with higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. Through CPI, the City is investing $318 million in capital dollars funding renovations of 67 parks that have not undergone improvements in decades.

Bloomingdale Playground and P.S. 145 (known as the Bloomingdale School) replaced the old P.S. 105 in 1958. The playground opened on September 12, 1962, under the jurisdiction of the Board of Estimate, and was transferred to the joint operation of NYC Parks and the Board of Education in November 1963. Formerly known as P.S. 145 Playground, the parkland was renamed in 1997 to reflect the rich history of the area. The Upper West Side was named Bloomingdale by 17th century Dutch and Flemish settlers after a town near Haarlem in the Netherlands. The word “bloomingdale” is an adaptation of the Dutch word “bloomendaal,” or “vale of flowers,” which reflected the geography of the area before it was leveled and developed.

600+ COMPLETED CAPITAL PROJECTS
Parks announced recently the agency completed 648 capital projects since Commissioner Silver joined the agency in 2014: the administration has taken on more projects and has completed them faster—nearly 90% completed on budget and 85% on time. Through this, the agency has provided everyday New Yorkers access to 205 improved playgrounds and sports courts; 102 reconstructed paths & plazas; 39 new comfort stations; 36 athletic fields; and the agency has addressed infrastructure at 24 of its piers, waterfronts and retaining walls (and much more). Parks’ 10-year capital budget is $5.2 billion—the completed projects over the past five years represents a $1.3 billion investment.

NYC Parks’ capital division of nearly 500 staff, including more than 100 landscape architects, manages its capital projects from start to finish; designing approximately 70% of its landscape architecture projects in-house—of the 648 projects completed, 410 were landscape projects. Currently, the agency is managing 618 active capital projects: 149 are in construction; 246 are in procurement and 178 are in design.