New $1.5M, Eco-Friendly Playground Opens At Little Neck School

LITTLE NECK, QUEENS — A $1.5 million, eco-friendly playground opened Monday at P.S. 221Q in Little Neck, city officials announced.

The student-designed playground features a turf field, two running tracks and game tables and will capture more than 23,000 gallons of stormwater each time it rains, according to the non-profit Trust for Public Land, which collaborated with Queens officials on the project.

The stormwater management system will help improve the health of the nearby Little Neck Bay, according to NYC Department of Environmental ProtectionCommissioner Vincent Sapienza.

Funding and support came from City Council Member Barry Grodenchik, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, the Department of Environmental Protection, the School Construction Authority and the Trust for Public Land.

"When I first visited P.S. 221Q, the principal showed me the schoolyard, which was nothing but a sheet of asphalt. I told her there and then that the school should have a real playground and that I would work to make it happen," Grodenchik, who represents parts of northeast Queens, said in a statement.

"The children of Eastern Queens deserve only the best, and that is exactly what this facility provides," he added.

Everyone is excited to explore our awesome new playground which just opened today. Thank you to the students who designed this amazing playspace, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Councilmember @BarryGrodenchik, Frank Sapienza, and Trust for Public Land Team. pic.twitter.com/Cxx5xdUrTz
— PS221Team (@PS221Team) October 21, 2019

Elementary school students at P.S. 221Q, or the North Hills School, will use the playground during the school day. It will only be open to the public from 2:35 p.m. to dusk on weekdays, according to a spokesperson for the Trust for Public Land.

The park was supposed to be open to the public on weekends and during school breaks, but a funding shortage forced officials to cut those so-called "off hours," the spokesperson said.

The limited hours will stay in place unless the Trust for Public Land and local officials can get funding to pay school custodians to open and close the playground at those times.