By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UNION SQUARE — Spring has sprung at the new 15,000-square-foot playground in Union Square, which was packed Friday with children and their parents.
The playground, which officially opened on Jan. 14, is nearly three times the size of the previous play space and features state-of-the-art equipment. It took nearly two years to renovate.
"It's great and we love it," said Union Square resident Anthony Cacossa, who often brings his 3-year-old daughter to the new playground. "We waited a while for it to open, but it finally opened and it's great."
The playground not only attracts locals, but also Manhattanites from across the borough.
"We actually live on the Upper West Side, and I came all the way down here just for this playground," said Victoria Kopper, who brought her 3-year-old.
Kopper's main complaint about the playgrounds in her neighborhood was that they are in disrepair.
"There's so much broken equipment in the playgrounds up near us that this park is like heaven," Kopper said.
Mother Kathleen Gresh, who lives on Central Park South and hopped on the subway to Union Square with her 2-year-old son, echoed Kopper's sentiments.
"As far as safety goes, it's probably one of the safest parks around," Gresh said.
However, some Union Square locals feel differently.
"Honestly, I think it must have been designed by someone who doesn't have children," said Suzanne L., who lives on 16th Street and declined to give her last name.
One concern that playground parents seemed to unanimously share is the danger older kids pose to toddlers when they play in the park after school.
"When the big kids get out of school, we leave," Gresh said. "They kind of overrun the park, and they're not careful about the little kids that are here, which is the main thing."
