BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The city is planning a major facelift for Bed-Stuy’s Weeksville playground, with new features set to include a several spray showers, but construction is still more than a year away, according to Parks Department officials.
The renovation of the playground, located at Atlantic and Herkimer avenues, will include new pavement designed to better deflect heat, game tables, and a revamped play area for younger children, according to Kevin Bogle, a landscape architect at the Parks Department who created the new design.
The park currently consists of a play structure toward the back of the lot, with much of the front area taken up by open concrete. The new design is intended to make better use of the space, Bogle told residents at a meeting of Community Board 3 on Monday.
Another change from the current setup will be a low 4-foot fence at the front of the park, part of an effort by the city to make parks feel more open and less like a cage, Bogle said.
“There’s currently not a lot to see there,” he said.
Community Board 3 passed a resolution in support of the project, but with the caveat that the playground include a plaque or other historical marker noting the importance of Weeksville as an early settlement in Brooklyn for African-Americans and ex-slaves.
The city has earmarked $900,000 for the project, with funds coming from the mayor’s office, Bogle said.
At the meeting, several residents questioned Bogle about why the plan didn't include a bathroom, but installing a bathroom would likely run up a bill in the millions of dollars and take up too much of the park’s limited space, Bogle said.
The Parks Department expects the design of the new playground to be finalized by fall, followed by a nine-month procurement process to find a contractor and a year of construction, according to an agency spokeswoman.
