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Read the press release here.

City to Fund $5.6M Overhaul of Bloomingdale Playground

By Emily Frost | October 7, 2015 12:35pm
 The playground will recieve $5.59 in funding for a complete reconstruction and redesign, the Parks Department said. 
Bloomingdale Playground to Receive $5.59 Million Upgrade
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UPPER WEST SIDE — The city will fund a $5.59 million renovation of Bloomingdale Playground as part of a citywide initiative to increase its investment in parks in impoverished areas.  

The Amsterdam Avenue and West 104th Street playground will undergo a total overhaul of its play structures, basketball courts, bathrooms and spray showers, a Parks Department spokeswoman said. 

Community Board 7 set up a task force last fall dedicated to making the playground more inclusive to children of all abilities, with a design that would go beyond typical ADA requirements. There might be a quiet area for children with sensory overload issues, for example. 

This summer, the plans got a boost from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, who gave a $400,000 grant for the inclusive playground project. 

The additional funding from the city announced this week means not only that reconstruction of Bloomingdale Playground has a full green light from the Parks Department, with the first phase of design beginning in the spring, but that the scope of the work can be expanded, a Parks spokeswoman said. 

The city's investment doubles the size of the project to include the spaces next to the playground, including the basketball courts and bathrooms, she said. 

And the Community Board's plan to make it a state-of-the-art model of inclusivity is still a prime objective, she confirmed. 

"We recognize the importance of accessible play spaces, and we look forward to working with all community stakeholders through the public input meeting to identify priorities that will lead to the final park design," the spokeswoman said in a statement. 

Bloomingdale Playground is one of 12 city parks or playgrounds that were added to the list of sites that would receive an injection of $150 million in funding, as part of the Community Parks Initiative, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver announced Tuesday.

The mayor first launched the initiative in October 2014 with the goal of reviving 35 parks within needy communities. Tuesday’s announcement brings the total funding for the Community Parks Initiative up to $285 million, the Parks Department said.  

In the next year, Silver is expected to announce 25 additional parks that will receive "targeted improvements," the spokeswoman said.  

Meetings about Bloomingdale Playground, led by the task force, will continue throughout the fall, winter and spring, according to the group's chairwoman, Catherine DeLazzero, a CB7 member.

"We are thrilled that the city is investing in Bloomingdale Playground and the local community," DeLazzero said. "This was the result of an inclusive, community-driven process to develop a framework for an inclusive design — one based on the principles of Universal Design and the needs of our community."

The next meeting dedicated to the project is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 22 at Community Board 7's office at 250 W. 87th St.