CROWN HEIGHTS — The final design for a major renovation of Stroud Playground is now complete, park officials announced Thursday.
New basketball courts, play equipment, water features, a jogging track, “outdoor classroom” space and 30 newly planted trees are on the way for the Crown Heights, neighborhood park, according to a design released by the Prospect Park Alliance this week.
Through community input forums held this past winter, the Alliance said it incorporated many requests from neighborhood residents in the design. It includes better lighting, areas for parties and picnics and outdoor space for M.S. 383 and P.S. 316, located adjacent to the park on Classon Avenue between Park and Sterling places. The local community board approved the plan this summer.
The $4.4 million renovation will begin in 2016 and take about a year to complete, according to the Alliance, which created the design pro-bono as part of the Community Parks Initiative, a citywide effort to improve 35 parks in neighborhoods with above-average poverty rates.
Some eco-friendly elements will be included in the new playground, including rain gardens, porous paving and energy efficient lighting. The park’s chain-link fence will also be removed during construction, to be replaced by a tree perimeter and lower fences.
“The transformation of Stroud Playground is an exciting time for the neighborhood of Crown Heights, particularly our children and families who deserve a park that they have truly made their own,” said local Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo in a statement in which she thanked the mayor, the Parks Department and the Alliance “for engaging our community in the renovation of our green space.”
