Parks Dept. Breaks Ground on New Boro Park Playground

A groundbreaking took place Friday at P.S. 192 on 18th Avenue between 47th Street and 48th Street in Boro Park for a new public playground in the school’s rear yard . Councilman David Greenfield, Senator Simcha Felder, Brooklyn Parks Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey, Community Board 12 Chairman Yidel Perlstein and schools officials took part in the ceremony.

“This is a very exciting moment for our school and our students,” said P.S. 192 Principal Liset Isaac.

The project, which is part of the city’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative, is expected to be completed by next summer and will be the first new park in that section of the community in decades.  The Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative is intended to meet the goal of ensuring that all New Yorkers live within ten minutes of a park or playground. The effort is a joint initiative between NYC Parks, the Department of Education, the non-profit Trust for Public Land and local elected officials like Councilman Greenfield who help fund the individual projects.

“We are finally living up to our neighborhood’s name — Boro Park — as a result of this project and the fact that we are funding improvements to every single park around the area,” said Councilman Greenfield. “I especially want to thank my friend Senator Felder for starting this project five years ago when he was our councilman, and I am thrilled to have secured the funding to finish it,” he said.

“I worked years to plan for and secure the necessary funding for this new park in the heart of the community,” said Senator Felder. “I applaud Councilman Greenfield for sharing my commitment to bettering our community and for seeing this project through to completion.”

“I have no doubt that many families will take advantage of this great new park once it opens next summer,” said CB12 Chairman Perlstein.

The new playground was funded by a $1.2 million allocation by Councilman Greenfield and Senator Felder and a $394,450 contribution from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and  will include a large running track, a tennis court, basketball hoops, two new turf fields, a tot lot, an area for 5- to 12-year-olds, and a large ramped unit to accommodate children of all abilities. Maps and games will be painted on the asphalt and more than 25 trees and numerous benches will be installed throughout the site.

This article appeared in print on page 18 of the September 3rd, 2013 edition of Hamodia.