Lafayette Playground

NYC PARKS OFFICIALLY BREAKS GROUND ON BROOKLYN COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE SITE LAFAYETTE PLAYGROUND

NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher today joined City Council Member Mark Treyger, State Assembly Member William Colton, students and administrators from Lafayette High School and local community members for an official groundbreaking ceremony at Lafayette Playground, a Community Parks Initiative (CPI) site in Gravesend, Brooklyn. The renovation of Lafayette Playground is funded with $4.5 million from Mayor de Blasio, and is expected to be completed by the end of summer 2019.

“For too long, Lafayette Playground has been an underwhelming asphalt triangle. But when completed, this vital community space will be transformed and – thanks to valuable public input – a true reflection of the creative vision of the surrounding community,” said Commissioner Maher. “Thanks to Community Parks Initiative funding, this beloved playground will finally get the renovation it needs with so many new amenities.”

“Residents in southern Brooklyn deserve access to the same kind of quality green and recreational spaces available to other New Yorkers. With the inclusion of Lafayette Playground in the Community Parks Initiative, we have the opportunity and the resources to transform a simple asphalt triangle into a lush, green multipurpose space that meets the needs of this community,” said Council Member Treyger. “I’m so proud that work is underway, and that we are so close to being able to enjoy the new Lafayette Playground.”

The new and improved Lafayette Playground will transform the current asphalt surface into a multi-faceted playground with adult fitness equipment, children’s play equipment with safety surface, a synthetic turf field, sports courts and more. Parks held a public input meeting in April of 2016, kicking off the design process. At the meeting, local community members contributed their ideas for reimagining the playground.

CPI was initially launched in 2014, and is funded through 2019 with $318 million in capital dollars funding renovations of more than 60 community parks that have not undergone significant improvements in decades. All of the parks and playgrounds that will receive improvements are in dense, fast-growing neighborhoods with an above-average percentage of residents living below the poverty level.