Central Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, November 27, 2000

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND IS REBORN WITH A SAFER DESIGN

Photo by Amanda (Greenpoint) Tedeschi

ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND IS REBORN WITH A SAFER DESIGN

In their last hours of school before Thanksgiving, elementary schoolers at P.S. 166 sang turkey day carols to celebrate Playground 89's new design. With that, they invited community members back into the playground after 24 years on the other side of the fence.

The parkland was built in 1967 based on Paul Friedberg's original design. It included an amphitheater, a wading pool with water jets, stone pyramids with slides, and a comfort station. The design, however, was typical of post-war era playgrounds that assigned adventure themes to interactive play spaces. The innovative design was deemed too dangerous for unsupervised use, and the site was fenced in for the exclusive use of supervised schoolchildren. In 1999, the original playground was demolished, and on Wednesday, the ribbon was cut on a new design. This one adapts the spirit of adventure to the needs of 21st century kids at play.

Manhattan Borough Commissioner, Adrian (A-Train) Benepe and Chair of Community Board 7, Eric M. Nelson, expressed their thanks to Council Member Ronnie Eldridge and to the Astor Foundation who funded the $1 million capital reconstruction. With new play equipment, plantings, and spray showers, safety surfacing and an amphitheater that doubles as a fountain, Playground 89-named for its location at 89th street and Columbus Avenue in Manhattan-marries innovation and safety. In doing so it facilitates the reunion of community members and the schoolchildren who live in their midst.

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO IN THE PLANT
(Monday, November 30, 1987)

HAWKS OVER THE HUDSON

There are many elements that make the current in-house restoration of the 600-foot-long Fort Tryon Heather Garden in upper Manhattan rewarding. Perhaps most uplifting of all, says Manhattan Director of Natural Services Jane Schachat, is the opportunity to observe fall migration over the Hudson River. Restoration of the Heather Garden was begun in 1985, as a huge undertaking to restore the Garden to its original 1930s splendor.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

The definition of an expert: "An ordinary man away from home."
Anonymous