ICYMI: Officials Break Ground At St. Mary's Playground

CARROLL GARDENS, BROOKLYN — A host of city officials, Parks Department workers and community members were on hand Tuesday afternoon to officially break ground on the St. Mary's Playground, which has been closed for nearly a decade.

The $1.35 million upgrades to the playground — on Smith Street between Huntington and Nelson streets, underneath the F/G train tracks — will include play equipment for toddlers, young children and older children along with spray showers, tables and chairs and new planting.

They are expected to be finished by April 2018. A separate set of renovations to a play area between Nelson and Liquer streets, which will also cost $1.35 million, will include a skating area, synthetic turf field, adult fitness equipment, basketball courts and a walking track.

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The St. Mary's Playground was demolished and closed in 2009 while the MTA renovated that section of the F/G line in Brooklyn. The MTA promised to restore the play areas but only promised $850,000, less than a third of what was needed.

City Councilman Brad Lander and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams secured the additional $1.85 million for the restorations, and community members worked with the Parks Department to design the play area.

"It has taken a long time," Lander told Patch after the ceremony. "But it’s great finally to be here."

Mike Racioppo, the vice chair of Community Board 6 and Ethe xecutive Director of the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation told Patch the effort was a "great project in which elected officials, the city itself and community have come to together for a great benefit for everyone."

The playground's set up, being situated under a busy subway track, should also make for a play experience you don't get at many city parks.

"Partly because the light is good. This is not a dark space," Lander said. "The structure itself is sort of fun. They’ve designed it thoughtfully so you can run and whatnot. I think it adds a really fun feature. And when it drizzles, you’re able to stay dry."

Image via Marc Torrence, Patch Staff