OAKLAND GARDENS — Game on.
Kids were once again able to clamber on the swings and run around the playground at the Alley Pond Park Monday, which reopened months after it was decimated by a fire.
The playground at Queens' second-largest public park was shut down in September last year, after a fire tore through the ground covering and destroyed some pieces of playground equipment, according to published reports.
The fire, a suspected case of arson, was reported at 1 a.m. on Sept. 28 and was so intense that it mangled the steel beams of the jungle gym, reports said.
Parks Department officials said it was still unclear who caused the fire and added no arrests had been made so far.
The playground cost $175,000 to refurbish.
"It is a shame that the community had to go for several months without this playground," said Councilman Mark Weprin. "But I am pleased that the Alley Pond Park’s children’s playground is open for business once again."
The children’s playground is located in Alley Pond Park at the intersection of Springfield Boulevard and 76th Avenue in Oakland Gardens.
