HARLEM — For the first time in a decade PS 197 has a playground.
The elementary school on 135th Street and Fifth Avenue was selected out of 400 schools nationwide in a contest sponsored by Sara Lee.
During a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday the principal spoke about the pressure of having to tell her students they couldn’t afford their own outdoor play area.
“You think Republicans give a lot of pressure in Congress?” said Principal Natasha Spann. “Well imagine 4, 5, and 10-year-old pressuring you to get a playground done and explain to them that you don’t have money in the budget to do it.”
The school’s oldest students have gone from pre-K to fifth grade without having a playground of their own. They previously used a public park near the school.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Ali Jefferson, a fifth grader. “I am glad this day has finally arrived. We have never had a playground around. I am very happy that we have a new playground to use that is close to the school and safe.”
The playground includes two structures that have a slide and a bridge. On the other end of the playground Harlem Grown is going to create an organic garden where the students will be able to grow their own vegetables.
Harlem Grown has worked with PS 197 for about four years. Previously they walked to the garden on 134th Street. The organization’s founder, Tony Hillery, is the person who applied for the Sara Lee contest.
“They chose us, but really they chose you,” he told the students at PS 197. “They came, they saw, and they built so we built this playground which is going to be the anchor of a total organic school garden.”
