Phase One of the St. Mary;s Playground reconstruction
Once upon a time, there were two neglected, underutilized playgrounds underneath the Culver Viaduct at Smith Street between Huntington Street and Luquer Street. It was closed and dismantled a few years ago, while the Metropolitan Transit Authority worked on the viaduct and the train tracks above.
St. Mary's Playground was supposed to re-open in 2013, but as with everything in New York City, there were delays. The good news is that reconstruction of the southern part of the park between Huntington and Nelson Streets is now underway. It is slated to be completed by the spring of 2018. The design includes two play areas, one for 2-5 year olds and another for 5-12 year olds. A water feature will also be included, as are planting areas.
Phase 2 includes the portion between Nelson Street and Luquer Street. The design for that part of the park has already been approved and construction is slated to begin in 2018.
Though the playgrounds will be in shade most of the day and the train running overhead can be deafening, the Carroll Gardens neighborhood is in sore need of more park space.
Let us hope that St. Mary's will ease some of the overcrowding in Carroll Park.
St. Mary's Playground was supposed to re-open in 2013, but as with everything in New York City, there were delays. The good news is that reconstruction of the southern part of the park between Huntington and Nelson Streets is now underway. It is slated to be completed by the spring of 2018. The design includes two play areas, one for 2-5 year olds and another for 5-12 year olds. A water feature will also be included, as are planting areas.
Phase 2 includes the portion between Nelson Street and Luquer Street. The design for that part of the park has already been approved and construction is slated to begin in 2018.
Though the playgrounds will be in shade most of the day and the train running overhead can be deafening, the Carroll Gardens neighborhood is in sore need of more park space.
Let us hope that St. Mary's will ease some of the overcrowding in Carroll Park.
Are you looking forward to this new park? Do you think you will use it?
.JPG)
11 comments:
There is a large parcel of land directly across the street that gets plenty of sunlight and is not under the subway tracks. The best part is that the public already owns it. Public Place would make an an amazing park.
The plan looks lovely...I hope it lasts....
Back in the early 80s the city renovated the parks. The south parcel had a children's playground with whimsical equipment. I think one was a giant spider kids could climb upon..with bridges, swings etc. The north parcel was for older kids with basketball courts.
It didn't last. Given the location under the subway tracks and across from a vacant lot, the park attracted groups of young adults at night.
The playground equipment was set ablaze one night not too long after the park opened. It never came back.
I hope there is a security plan. As I recall someone on Huntington St used to lock the park at night and reopen it in the morning.
To anonymous at 12:07
Do you not know that the parcel across the street is an EPA Superfund site? That parcel needs massive remediation. The remediation has been ongoing for years.
Without remediation, the parcel is unusable.
In its present state a park there would be unsafe for children.
While I agree that the neighborhood could use more park space, would not a better use have been siting a supermarket there? The city could have developed the land as a location exclusively for a supermarket.
You really don't need a sunny spot for a supermarket.
Other than wholefoods (too expensive and too far) and key food on Henry St (too far and small selection) there is no reasonable place to shop for groceries in the area.
I so wish they had included a dog run as part of the design as one of these parcels. The dogs probably wouldn't care about the lack of sunlight or the train noise. I took a look at the work as I walked to Lowe's the other day and I can see that the the concept is nice. And having a playground that is somewhat sheltered from the elements may be nice when cabin fever hits.
12:07 here. I am well aware that the site (the parcel itself is NOT a superfund site) is currently being remediated. I am also well aware that our local electeds are more than happy to practically gift this publicly owned site to a private developer. A grocery store would also be an excellent use.
This is a waste of useable space. A park in the shade under train traffic is not a park at all!
Convert it into valuable parking spaces to help alleviate street parking congestion
This started quite awhile ago actually. And why can't they do the parks in tandem? And yes this would be better suited for a dog run. I always wondered about this location. Dark and dangerous. Dirty. What will they plant here? Most plants need sunlight. In any event it's a park and hopefully someone will use it. Dog run. Should be a dog run.
Pay and secure parking? Or an open lot free for all for car parts.
since the parole office opened there have been a lot of people who spend their days hanging around in front of the Smith and 9th subway station. When they were designing the park this wasn't so much of a concern, (as the parole office was being developed and built in secret) but now I think many of those folks will gravitate over to the park.
The problem with the old park there was the dirt from the subway and the lack of rain left all of the playground equipment filthy. I hope they have a plan to kep it cleaner this time or it will be a wasted effort.
Post a Comment