Hunts Point Playground

NYC PARKS COMPLETES $3.37 MILLION RECONSTRUCTION OF HUNTS POINT PLAYGROUND A COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE SITE

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, yesterday joined the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Bronx Borough Coordinator Effie Ardizzone, Council Member Rafael Salamanca, Bronx Community Board 2 District Manager Ralph Acevedo, students and staff from P.S. 48, and community members to cut the ribbon on Hunts Point Playground—a Community Parks Initiative site. The project was funded with $2.6M from Mayor Bill de Blasio, and a $730K allocation from the Department of Environmental Protection.

“At NYC Parks, our goal is to create thriving parks for our communities, and we know the upgraded Hunts Point Playground will continue be a beloved community hub in the future,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver. “Thanks to the Community Parks Initiative, this newly transformed park will improve the quality of life for the Hunts Point community.”

The newly transformed Hunts Point Playground features a renovated comfort station, and new play equipment, safety surfacing, spray showers, fencing, seating areas, and landscaping.

To manage stormwater runoff, green infrastructure has been added throughout Hunts Point Playground, which, combined, are able to capture 2.3 million gallons of stormwater annually. DEP has committed approximately $50 million in funding for green infrastructure installations at CPI sites throughout the city, helping to reduce sewer overflows that sometimes occur during heavy rainfall, improve air quality and lower summertime temperatures.

“This revitalized playground is not only a wonderful community space, but its new green infrastructure will play an important role in managing stormwater to reduce flooding and improve the health of our nearby waterways,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “We thank Commissioner Silver and his team at NYC Parks for being such terrific partners in our efforts to make New York City a greener, more resilient place to call home.”

“Thanks to the city’s Community Parks Initiative, the Hunts Point community is celebrating the rejuvenation of the Hunts Points Playground,” stated Council Member Rafael Salamanca. “Once under-resourced, school children from PS 48 and the local neighborhood will benefit greatly from the significant funding that facilitated the construction of new playground equipment, benches, landscaping and comfort stations. I thank the administration for their commitment to improving the quality of parks across the South Bronx, and look forward to seeing my constituents enjoy this new space as we begin the summer season.”

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI strives to make NYC Parks a more equitable and accessible parks system by investing in smaller parks that are located in New York City’s densely-populated neighborhoods with higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. Through CPI, the City is investing $318 million in capital dollars to make renovations to 67 parks citywide that have not undergone significant improvements in decades.

Hunts Point Playground, located in the neighborhood of the same name in the southwest Bronx, is named for Thomas Hunt, one of the first settlers to occupy the area in the 1670s. One can easily observe the point, protruding out into the East River, on any map of the Bronx. In 1874, New York City, which at the time included only Manhattan, began to annex sections of the Bronx. Hunts Point, originally part of West Farms in what was then lower Westchester County, became the newest part of New York City. The area underwent significant growth and development after the IRT subway line to Manhattan was built in 1904. Hunts Point is famous for the Hunts Point Terminal Market, the largest produce market in the United States.