Sumner Playground

NYC PARKS JOINS BED STUY COMMUNITY TO BREAK GROUND ON OVER $4 MILLION IN IMPROVEMENTS TO SUMNER PLAYGROUND

NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher yesterday joined City Council Member Robert Cornegy for a groundbreaking ceremony at Sumner Playground in Bed Stuy. The project was jointly funded by the council member and Mayor de Blasio for $4.2 million and the playground’s new design is the result of extensive community input from local residents and nearby schools.

“Sumner Playground is a vital resource to the Bed Stuy community, and it deserves the complete transformation it will undergo over the next year,” said Commissioner Maher. “All of the features at the new and improved Sumner Playground came from the imaginations of this passionate local community, and there will be something for everyone when it is complete. Parks is thrilled to be partnering with Council Member Cornegy and Mayor de Blasio on this exciting renovation.”

"It is with pleasure that I applaud the reconstruction of the Sumner Playground, named after Charles Sumner, a senator who fought to require that voting rights be guaranteed to African-Americans and advocated prison reform, along with educational improvement. We look forward to the sounds of children playing and families enjoying the end results," said Council Member Cornegy.

The new and improved Sumner playground will include a full renovation of the entire playground with play equipment for children of all ages, tot and junior swings, safety surface and spray showers, and state of the art adult fitness equipment that provides a free year round outdoor gym in the community.

Additionally, the ballfield will be reconstructed in natural turf with new dugouts and bleachers. The basketball courts will be completely reconstructed, providing an ideal setting for students at P.S. 59 to develop their skills. Garden seating, landscaping, and brand new shaded plazas will also be added to beautify the playground.

Sumner Playground lies between Sumner Avenue, Madison Street, Throop Avenue, and Monroe Street. The playground is named for Sumner Avenue, which in turn was named either for Jethro Sumner (ca. 1733-1785), a Revolutionary War general who served under George Washington and commanded the North Carolina forces from 1781 to 1783, or for Charles Sumner (1811-1874), an abolitionist senator from Massachusetts. The street was named in 1887, thirteen years after Charles Sumner died, which, along with his historical prominence, makes him the more likely namesake.