LOWER EAST SIDE — The Parks Department is looking for some help with its upcoming renovation of the Henry M. Jackson Playground.
The agency plans to ask neighborhood residents what they want from the park at a Jan. 7 community input meeting. The playground, at Jackson Street and Grand Street, is one of three sites earmarked to receive $130 million set aside to fix up 35 parks citywide.
The funding is part of the Community Parks Initiative, which aims to improve and renovate public spaces “in communities that need it the most,” using “21st-century designs and materials,” according to a flier about the meeting.
Henry M. Jackson Playground includes basketball courts, handball courts and play spaces with slides covered in chipped and faded paint. The handball and basketball courts were last refurbished in 1998, according to the Parks Department website.
The Parks Department has budgeted $1.2 million to improve Henry M. Jackson Playground, according to agency spokesman Phil Abramson.
“We really want to hear from the community what amenities they would like to see in their parks,” he said. “Based on feedback, we can begin drafting and designing plans.”
The city also plans to renovate Sol Lain Playground and Luther Gulick Playground using part of the $130 million.
The community input meeting for Henry M. Jackson Playground will take place on Jan. 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on the sixth floor of the Educational Alliance’s Manny Cantor Center at 197 E. Broadway. To sign up to participate, visit nyc.gov/parks, email Kirsti.Bambridge@parks.nyc.gov or call 212-408-0216.