UPPER EAST SIDE — New Yorkers have their favorite hangouts and their kids are no exception.
Central Park lovers chose the East 72nd Street playground as their favorite out of 21 play spaces in Central Park in a three-week-long poll that the Central Park Conservancy held on its Twitter called "Playground Playoffs."
More than 1,000 votes were cast, according to Conservancy officials.
The playground, which was built during the Robert Moses era and was renovated in 2015, went head to head with the Adventure Playground at 67th Street on the West Side, but wound up victorious. The poll ran from March 23 to 25.
The #PlaygroundPlayoffs Final is SET! It's east vs west in a match to crown NYC's FAVORITE Central Park playground!
— Central Park (@CentralParkNYC) March 24, 2016
The 72nd Street playground became a favorite after its renovation last year, according to the Central Park Conservancy.
"The public reception to the new playground has been terrific, which is underscored by this vote," said Douglas Blonsky, the president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy.
The East 72nd Street Playground re-opened last October, under the Conservancy's Central Play Campaign to improve all of its 21 playgrounds, with a brand new push-button water fountain, new climbers, slides, as well as new tire and strap swings.
Janet Dionigi, a grandmother of a 3-and-a-half-year-old girl, said she can believe that the East 72nd Street Playground is the favorite among park-goers.
"I've been to several and this is the best," she said as she sat watching the kids play on Wednesday morning.
The playground is clean and has a wide range of interests for the kids and is well-designed, she said. Parents can also watch their kids while sitting on benches behind a low concrete wall and the solid wood used throughout the play equipment is safe and anesthetically pleasing, she added.
The Conservancy hopes that the Playground Playoffs raises awareness of Playground Partners, a Conservancy program dedicated to raising funds for the care and maintenance of the park's 21 playgrounds, according to a Blonsky.
