Tecumseh Playground

The Daily Plant : Monday, June 24, 2013

Parks Cuts The Ribbon On Restoration Of Tecumseh Playground

Photo by Daniel Avila

On Friday, June 21, Manhattan Borough Commissioner William Castro joined Council Member Gale Brewer, Community Board 7 Chair Mark Diller, P.S. 87 Principal Monica Berry and school kids from P.S. 87 to cut the ribbon on a newly renovated schoolyard at Tecumseh Playground in Manhattan.

“This playground now provides varied recreational opportunities for the students at P.S. 87 and other neighborhood children,” said Borough Commissioner Castro. “It could serve as a model for how to transform a schoolyard into a visually appealing and enjoyable space that encourages kids to play together.”

Council Member Gale Brewer, who allocated $1.3 million from the City’s capital budget for the project, said “I am happy to see that the renovations were completed in a timely manner and the result by the Parks Department is simply stunning. This schoolyard is the result of great investment, collaboration and effort from many of us with the common goal of enhancing Tecumseh to provide the best environment possible for the students and community to have fun and stay active. It is extremely important to encourage physical activity in our school children, and having all these options in one place will surely make a difference. Children have stopped me on the street, and even at Fairway Market, to say that the schoolyard is absolutely beautiful, and I am sure it will be enjoyed by generations to come.”

The renovation included two kickball fields, a soccer field, three basketball courts, a small track and two hopscotch games, all of which make staying active fun and easy. New benches and chess tables, including some that are accessible, were also added, as well as a new accessible drinking fountain, new paving, a new entrance gate, reconstructed fencing and curbs, tree guards and plantings.

Designed by NYC Parks, the project reflects the wishes of the neighborhood and school for an upgraded playground that can be enjoyed by the P.S. 87 schoolchildren during the school day, and youths from the general community during the rest of the time.

Tecumseh Playground is named after one of the Civil War’s best-known generals, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891). P.S. 87 is the William T. Sherman School. General Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio in 1820. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1840 and served in both the Mexican and Civil Wars. After retiring to New York, he resided near what is now called Sherman Square on W. 70th Street and Broadway. He died in New York in 1884. The saying “War is hell” is attributed to Sherman.