Stockton Playground

PARKS BREAKS GROUND ON BROOKLYN COMMUNITY PARKS INITIATIVE SITE STOCKTON PLAYGROUND

NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP today joined City Council Member Robert Cornegy, administrators and students from PS 297, and community members to break ground on Stockton Playground, a Community Parks Initiative (CPI) site in Brooklyn. Stockton Playground was one of the original 35 CPI sites announced in 2014, and is funded with $2.6 million from Mayor de Blasio to reconstruct the park and the comfort station.

“The Community Parks Initiative sites will be a reflection of the communities’ creative visions for their parks, and we can’t wait to bring those visions to life at Stockton Playground,” said Commissioner Silver. “This park will be getting a fresh start with new play equipment for all ages, water features, and an upgraded comfort station. Since Mayor de Blasio launched the Community Parks Initiative, residents in historically under-resourced neighborhoods have already benefited from enhanced public spaces, new and increased programming, and grassroots parks scoping sessions.”

“The renovation of Stockton Playground is welcome news for the future of Bedford-Stuyvesant,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. “Improving our open space is critical to ensuring every community is a safer and greater place to raise healthy children and families. I am pleased that this playground is part of the Community Parks Initiative.”

“Since taking office, I have allocated over $26 million dollars to green space and play space for the 36th Council District,” said Council Member Cornegy. “I want to thank Commissioner Silver and Brooklyn Borough Commissioner, Marty Maher for coming to Central Brooklyn and helping us break ground for the Stockton playground upgrades. I also want to thank my colleagues in the City Council for approving the increased funding needed to make this a reality. We are looking forward to seeing the happy faces of kids and families this summer!”

When completed, Stockton Playground will boast new play equipment for all ages, with swings and safety surface; a spray shower, drinking fountains, and benches; landscaping, paving, a renovation of sports courts and conversion of the asphalt field to synthetic turf, and an upgraded comfort station. Parks held a public input meeting in January of 2015 when the design process began, allowing the local community to bring their ideas for Stockton Playground to the table and collaborate on reimagining the space. Construction on the site began in March and is scheduled to be completed by next spring.

Launched by Mayor de Blasio in October 2014, CPI is a multi-faceted investment in the smaller public parks that are located in New York City’s densely populated and growing neighborhoods where there are higher-than-average concentrations of poverty. CPI is NYC Parks' first major equity initiative and part of the Mayor’s OneNYC: The Plan for a Strong and Just City. Currently, CPI is investing $285 million in capital dollars through 2019 to make renovations on more than 60 community parks that have not undergone significant improvements in decades.

Thanks to significant investments by the City Council including increased funding for gardeners, maintenance workers, and community partnership, parks in the CPI initiative will receive critical operating support to sustain the capital investments. Additional staff and resources will be allocated across critical categories including community outreach, capital and planning, recreational programming, and park maintenance.