Help Impact The Future Of St. Mary's Playground In Carroll Gardens By Completing Survey

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The underutilized St. Mary's Playground underneath the Culver Viaduct at Smith Street between Huntington Street and Luquer Street has been closed for a few years now. It was temporarily closed and dismantled while the Metropolitan Transit Authority worked on the viaduct and the train tracks above.

The MTA promised that the playground would be totally rebuilt by Winter 2013. Obviously, there have been some delays. However, planning for the new playground is now underway.

Paige Bellenbaum, our new Female District Leader in the 52nd Assembly District, just sent out the link to a survey on Survey Monkey, which will hopefully help the NYC Parks Department determine the wishes and needs of the community in regards to the park.

Here is the link to the Survey, which reads:

Dear Neighbor, Please take a few minutes to complete this survey and help  shape the future design of St. Mary's Playground!

St. Mary’s Playground is named after the nearby St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church on Court Street. The park is located at the intersection of Smith, Huntington, Nelson, and Luquer Streets, and it borders the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Red Hook, Gowanus, and Carroll Gardens. To learn more about the history of the park visit: http://www.nycgovparks.org/ parks/st-marys-park-b118b/ history
For those of us who have lived in the community long enough to remember the park before it was demolished - and for the benefit of those who recently moved into the neighborhood - the park in its former state was neglected and underutilized. The play structures were in grave need of repair, the ground was uneven and buckling, and the entire park was covered in pigeon droppings and heavy dust.

If you have passed the park recently, you may have noticed that the park is awaiting reconstruction. Thanks to a generous allocation from Councilman Lander in the amount of $500,000 on top of the $850,000 the Parks Department received from the MTA when they vacated the space, there is a sizeable pot of funding dedicated to creating a park that speaks to the needs of families and children in our neighborhood.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to complete this survey in an attempt to impact the future design of St. Mary’s Playground. Now is the time for our community to join forces with the Parks Department and create a space that will appeal to all generations of the Carroll Gardens neighborhood and beyond.

Sincerely,
Paige Bellenbaum
Female District Leader, 52nd Assembly District