UPPER WEST SIDE — A local playground will undergo a full renovation — including the addition of bongo drums and a fake storefront that encourages kids to play shopkeeper — to make it more accessible to differently abled children and the public, the Parks Department said.
The upgrades to St. Gregory's Playground on West 90th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues will include features that children using wheelchairs or walkers can access from the ground, like a panel of bongo drums, a fake storefront and a playhouse structure, as well as ramps to get to higher levels, the designs showed.
The revamp will also replace play equipment and improve lighting, as well as adding new landscaping, a water fountain and benches, Community Board 7's Parks Committee chairwoman Klari Neuwelt at a meeting Tuesday.
The Mayor's Office and City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal together contributed $1.04 million toward renovations to the 23-year-old playground, which sits next to St. Gregory's Catholic School and is owned and maintained by the Parks Department.
Under the city's Parks Without Borders initiative, the project received an additional $50,000 that will go toward creating an entryway that appears more open through its design and landscaping, according to Neuwelt and the Parks Department. The project will cost $1.09 million in total.
"One of the aspects of the renovation is to open up the entrance a little bit and make it more inviting," Neuwelt said.
Construction is set to begin in the late summer of 2017 and take between a year and 18 months, the Parks Department said.
Community Board 7 members applauded the redesign Tuesday, especially the plan to make play equipment more accessible.
The board has prioritized making neighborhood playgrounds more inclusive, spearheading the reconstruction of Bloomingdale Playground on Amsterdam Avenue between West 104th and 105th streets.
Additionally, a Parks Department spokeswoman said the playground will also benefit from:
► relocating the basketball backstop to limit balls going over the fence and into West 90th Street;
► a new spray shower that will be turned on during the summer;
► added shade trees to make sitting at the playground more pleasant for caregivers;
► shade awnings over the play structures to protect children from the sun
The board approved the designs at its full board meeting Tuesday, and the project will go out to bid in the last quarter of 2016, the Parks Department spokeswoman said.
