St. Mary's Playground

NYC PARKS CELEBRATES CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS AT BROOKLYN’S ST. MARY’S PLAYGROUND

NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher today joined City Council Member Brad Lander, State Assembly Member Jo Anne Simon, and community members to celebrate the groundbreaking at St. Mary’s Playground in Carroll Gardens.

“St. Mary’s Playground sits at the nexus of three great communities: Carroll Gardens, Gowanus and Red Hook” said Brooklyn Commissioner Martin Maher. “Thanks to funding from the MTA, Council Member Lander, and Borough President Eric Adams, we were able to use the ideas presented by those communities to create a beautiful space for park-goers of all ages that unifies these neighborhoods.”

“I’m excited to see us finally start work at St. Mary’s Playground -- with a new playground, fences, plants, and more, the park will be a new green gem in the neighborhood and I’m happy to contribute the $500,000 to help see this project through to completion. The work at St. Mary’s is also an important part of our larger organizing efforts to improve parks and open spaces around the Gowanus Canal,” said Council Member Lander. “Thanks to NYC Parks, the MTA, and the Borough President for their work and assistance in this project.”

Funded with $850,000 from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and $500,000 from Council Member Lander, the full reconstruction of the playground includes brand new ADA accessible play equipment for toddlers, young children, and older children. New safety surface and spray showers, net climbers, new tables and chairs, permeable pavers to manage storm water, new fences, and new planting beds will also be added. Construction began earlier this summer and is expected to be completed by next spring.

In addition, the Council Member teamed up with the Borough President to secure $1.35 million more to reconstruct an adjacent parcel within the park, the design for which includes a skating area, multi-use synthetic turf field, adult fitness equipment, basketball courts, and a walking track. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

The two parcels of land for this park were acquired by the New York Department of Transportation in 1934 as part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (1882-1945) Works Progress Administration’s urban revitalization initiative. Originally they were to be utilized for the new Gowanus Expressway (1941), but many in the community thought the land straddling Nelson Street would be an ideal site for a playground.