Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk

NYC PARKS OPENS NEW AND IMPROVED BEACH 59 STREET PLAYGROUND IN ROCKAWAY, QUEENS

$5 million playground reconstruction project has redesigned and rebuilt the Beach 59 Street Playground for the community

Today, NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue joined Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., Council Member Selvena N. Brooks-Powers, Community Board 14 District Manager Jon Gaska, Florence Ferguson from the Friends of Beach 59th Street Playground Association and members of the community to celebrate the completion of the $5 million Beach 59 Street Playground reconstruction project in Rockaway, Queens.

“Today is a great day for Arverne – we could not be more excited to open the new and improved Beach 59 Street Playground in time for summer,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Thanks to support from the Borough President and City Council, and with tremendous input from the community, the thoughtfully redesigned Beach 59 Street Playground now has something for everyone, and I welcome all New Yorkers and visitors to come out and enjoy this new amenity this summer.”

"This $5 million revitalization of the Beach 59th Street Playground is not only an investment in state-of-the-art amenities for our kids to enjoy; it's a message that the days of disinvestment in communities like Arverne are over," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "Rockaway is on the come-up, and this playground is further proof of its resurgence. Thank you to the Parks Department and all our city and community partners who had a hand in bringing this project to fruition."

"I celebrate the opening of the new Beach 59th Street Playground, which will afford kids in our community a safe, high-quality place to play," said NYC Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers, Chair of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "I am proud to support public infrastructure projects like this one, which are so crucial in long-neglected, outer borough communities of color like ours. I applaud the advocacy of community members like Florence Ferguson - who led the charge to renovate the playground - and I commend the Parks Department for seeing this project through to on-time completion."

This project has completely reconstructed the Beach 59 Street Playground for the enjoyment of the surrounding community, bringing a mix of new and redesigned playground equipment to expand play opportunities for children of varying ages and abilities. The new spray shower area has also been completely upgraded and redesigned, allowing expanded ADA access, and a new shade structure has been installed to provide much-needed shade for parents, caregivers, and other park visitors on hot summer days. A new ADA accessible ramp has been built at the Beach 60th Street entrance to accommodate individuals with impaired mobility and parents with strollers.

This project was made possible with $2.9 million from the Office of the Queens Borough President and $2 million from the City Council.

The Beach 59 Street Playground Reconstruction project is one of six Parks projects opening summer 2023 on the Rockaway peninsula, representing over $33 million in parks and greenspace upgrades. Of the six projects, three were funded by FEMA through cost savings from the Rockaway Beach boardwalk reconstruction after Hurricane Sandy devastated the region in 2012 and severely impacted greenspaces in southern Queens.