UPPER WEST SIDE — A playground that provoked lawsuits and years of arguments among parents and residents over its redesign is set to reopen next week after a full renovation, the Parks Department said.
Playground 89, on West 89th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues, underwent a fast-tracked, three-and-a-half-month overhaul this fall and will reopen the week of Jan. 18 if all continues to go according to plan, a Parks spokeswoman said.
The historic adventure-style facility sits next to P.S. 166 and serves students from the school, as well as the public during non-school hours.
A group of parents, the school's PTA and its principal waged a campaign to reduce the slope of the amphitheater and remove its bricks so they could no longer be dislodged, an issue they claimed caused injuries.
An opposition group called Friends of Playground 89 fought the proposed changes, arguing the injury reports were trumped up and the redesign changed the playground's aesthetics too drastically.
It filed seven lawsuits to try to stop construction, all of which were settled, giving the city the green light on the $950,000 redesign.
Along with creating a more gradual slope from the center of the amphitheater, the renovations included adding new curved benches, redoing the fence along the perimeter and adding new sprinklers.
The overhaul will also make the playground more accessible by creating routes for wheelchairs and walkers to move between the different sections. It also preserved a quiet play area in the western section, behind the amphitheater.
