Playground One

NYC PARKS BREAK GROUND ON $3.45 MILLION RENOVATION OF PLAYGROUND ONE

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, joined New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh, New York City Council Member Margaret Chin and students from P.S. 1 to break ground on the total reconstruction of Playground One through Mayor Bill de Blasio funded Community Parks Initiative (CPI). The project was funded by a $3.45 million allocation, and is expected to be completed by summer 2020.

“Today is the start of the community-input led transformation of Playground One,” said Commissioner Silver. “Playground One had not received investment in more than 20 years, and now, through the Community Parks Initiative, we are set to provide children from the Two Bridges neighborhood and P.S. 1 with a dynamic space with great amenities that will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

“I’m thrilled that the children in our community and at PS 1 will soon have a new-and-improved Playground One Park to enjoy. Thank you to Mayor de Blasio, the NYC Parks, Councilmember Chin, and Community Board 3 for supporting great neighborhood parks, and PS 1 Principal Amy Hom and the many community members who helped envision this renovation,” said State Senator Brian Kavanagh, who represents Lower Manhattan.

“Playground One has been a place for the families and residents of Chinatown and the Lower East Side to relax, exercise and build communities for years,” said Council Member Margaret S. Chin, who represents the neighborhoods of the Lower East Side and Chinatown on the New York City Council. “The $3.45 million renovation project we broke ground on will mean this space can support more athletic activities, better serve the community and ensure Playground One is entirely accessible to all who want to enjoy it regardless of physical ability. These upgrades are not the only investment the City is making in our parks, my Council colleagues and I fought for $43 million in funding for a wide range of parks initiatives. These improvements speak to the City Council’s commitment towards making New York a cleaner and greener city”

Parks held a public input meeting with the community in October 2017 where community members presented their ideas to reimagine the park. The reconstructed playground, which reflects the community’s input, will include a resurfaced and re-graded basketball area, new play equipment, a playhouse, a bottle filler and drinking fountain, new security lighting, new surfacing and more.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, 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.

Playground One, located on Madison Street between Catherine and Oliver Streets, is named after the nearby public school, P.S. 1. The school is named for Alfred Emanuel Smith (1873-1944), a former Governor of New York. Smith resided in the Lower East Side for his entire life and carried the spirit of the community into his political work. Supporting social welfare legislation and public works projects, Smith contributed ideas that laid the groundwork for the plans outlined in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal (1933-1939).