Dutch Kills Playground

NYC PARKS OFFICIALLY OPENS DUTCH KILLS PLAYGROUND IN TIME FOR SUMMER FUN IN ASTORIA

NYC Parks Queens Borough Commissioner Michael Dockett today joined Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer; George Stamatiades, Central Astoria LDC; and community members to cut the ribbon on the newly reconstructed northern section of Dutch Kills Playground and celebrate the playground being open to the public for enjoyment this summer. This $3.350 million project was generously funded by Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Council.

“We are excited to open the newly reconstructed northern section of Dutch Kills Playground in time for the summer,” said Borough Commissioner Dockett. “With so many new features, this playground will now serve multiple generations and individuals with disabilities for years to come.”

This project reconstructed the northern portion of Dutch Kills Playground, showcasing new adult fitness equipment; basketball and handball courts; new accessible play equipment; a new larger spray shower with water-saving controls; and lowered fences making for a more welcoming playground entrance. The site also features new plantings and canopy trees; shaded seating and additional gathering areas for community members. And much more.

The playground shares its name with the adjacent school and the neighborhood in northwestern Queens. "Kill" is a Dutch word meaning "little stream," and the area takes its name from the 1643 Dutch settlement near the "kill" that flowed south to Newtown Creek.

NYC Parks acquired this land as a site for a new playground in 1946. The City later decided to use the site for both a new school building and playground. The Dutch Kills School, P.S. 112, welcomed its first pupils in 1952, and the playground opened to the public in 1954. The playground was called Crescent Street Playground for the street to its west, and later became Dutch Kills Playground to honor the neighborhood’s history.