HUNTERS POINT — A small neighborhood playground for toddlers that's been shuttered for the last few years will reopen next fall after renovations, officials said this week.
The State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will start work next summer on the "postage stamp-sized" play space at the corner of 48th Avenue and 5th Street, according to regional director Leslie Wright.
The tiny playground — made up of a small yellow jungle gym and slide — is part of nearby Gantry Plaza State Park but has been closed to residents for "quite a while" because its equipment is in disrepair, she said.
It will be renovated to include all new play equipment geared for kids 2 to 5, including climbing structures and a tunnel slide. A new safety surface will be put on the ground as well that will feature small "contoured areas" that children can climb, Wright said.
"All fun, simple stuff," Wright said during a presentation of the project to Queens Community Board 2 on Tuesday night. "We didn't have a lot of space to work with, but we wanted to maximize every inch of it."
Wright was unsure of when exactly the playground was shuttered, but a post on local blog LIC Talk two years ago indicate that it was closed since at least 2012.
The playground will reopen in the fall of 2016, following other renovations to the adjacent basketball and handball courts on 48th Avenue, Wright said.
That project will include resurfacing the basketball courts, installing new backboards, posts and nets and putting a new fence around the handball courts to prevent balls from flying into neighboring backyards.
Workers will also be cleaning the courts' drainage system to prevent standing water from pooling there, Wright said.
Those renovations are expected to finish next summer.
