Long Island City's Murray Playground, Dog Run To Get $5M Overhaul

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — A well-loved park in the heart of Long Island City will soon get a much-needed overhaul thanks to new city funding, officials announced this week.

The latest city budget, passed in June, includes $5.3 million in funding for the block-sized Hunter's Point green space between 45th Avenue and 45th Road, bounded by 11th and 21st streets.

City Councilmember Julie Won, who helped secure the funds, said $4.1 million will go toward replacing the synthetic turf field on the park's west side, while $1.2 million will fund the renovation of the dog run near 45th Road.

Won also got the Parks Department to commit to repairing broken tiles at the playground's sprinkler system, perform daily cleanings to remove excess sand from the playground's sandbox, add security lighting throughout the park, and create a schedule for regular gardening and cleaning.

"Since my first day in office, I heard from parents about capital investments needed to renovate Murray Playground, like the sprinkler area that has broken tiles, the worn out turf that hasn’t been replaced for 15 years, and areas that need more lighting at night," Won said in a statement.

In fact, the turf field was last replaced in 2010 as part of a $2 million renovation that also reconstructed the play area and bathrooms, according to news reports. The park's east side underwent its own $1.3 million renovation that wrapped up in 2014.

Just two weeks ago, meanwhile, two worn-out basketball courts on the park's far west side got a colorful revamp courtesy of Five Star Basketball, a youth organization based in Westchester.

Officials did not say when construction would begin on the new project.

Some parts of Murray Playground have "hundreds" of 311 complaints on file describing worn-out turf, faulty equipment and missing tiles and bricks, Won said in a tweet.

"As a mother and longtime resident of Long Island City, I couldn't be more excited for Julie to help us secure $5.3 million for much needed improvements to Murray Park," parent Janelle Pacheco Winowich said in a statement shared by Won's office.

"My son and his friends play there every day and it is such an important part of our neighborhood."

Murray Playground was created in the 1940s after the city acquired four plots of land, and named the park after John F. Murray — a longtime Queens park supervisor, community leader and boxing trainer.

It previously underwent renovations in 1980 and 1996, according to a Parks Department history.