ASTORIA — A playground in Astoria is getting an upgrade, including a set of permanent pingpong tables that will let table-tennis fans play all year round.
City officials announced design plans for Triborough Bridge Playground-A on Thursday, a currently unused lot of park space at 21st Street and Hoyt Avenue North, one of several sections of playgrounds situated under the shadow of the RFK Bridge.
The planned $550,000 makeover will install two all-weather ping pong tables, two new volleyball courts and a set of fitness equipment at the space, as well reconstruct the playground's existing handball wall and add new drains and fences.
"Volleyball and pingpong are sports I've grown up playing and are great to participate in at any age — but unfortunately it's sometimes difficult to find a place to play," City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. said in a statement.
Vallone, who allocated $275,000 to the project, is an aficionado of both sports: he currently plays on a volleyball team and was once a championship pingpong player at Fordham University.
"I'm excited to bring these activities to Astoria and bring this long dormant park back to life," he said.
The Parks Department expects to break ground on the project in fall or winter of 2014, and predicts construction will take about a year.
