By Dustin Brown
A Ridgewood park long ago left for dead by its neighbors made a giant step toward rebirth last Thursday when public officials broke ground on a $2 million reconstruction.
Before wielding shovels and tossing a ceremonial clump of dirt, community leaders hailed the project as a vital investment that will encourage people to finally visit Grover Cleveland Park, which had turned into a haven for loitering youth and suspicious activity as it languished from neglect.
“We’re here today to celebrate the rebirth of Grover Cleveland,” city Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said at the start of the brief ceremony, standing beneath a portable tent that shielded him and other speakers from a steady downpour.
The project will replace the park’s aging playground with new state-of-the-art equipment, in addition to reconstructing the basketball courts and replanting the lawn.
“It is a wonderful park that for a number of years has been under neglect,” said City Councilman Dennis Gallagher (R-Middle Village), who allocated the $2 million to fund the reconstruction of the park located between Grandview Avenue and Fairview Avenue along Stanhope Street.
“We’re going to turn this park to the people who should have it — the children, the senior citizens, the people who want to enjoy a quality of life in a beautiful surroundings.”
A comfort station, a small structure housing bathroom facilities, will be constructed in the park with $700,000 allocated by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall.
“It’s our business to help New Yorkers do their business,” Benepe said glibly.
Construction began in August and is expected to last about a year. The ground along one side of the park had already been dug up before the ceremony, creating a landscape of sycamores reinforced with wooden stakes standing in a vast bed of fresh soil.
The 5.1-acre park sits along Stanhope Street in Ridgewood across from Grover Cleveland High School, which was represented last Thursday by a dozen students from its Key Club, a community service group.
“It was just a place where a lot of kids would hang out, kids who weren’t doing the right thing,” said Tom Dixon, 17, the student body president. “It’s great that they’re doing something to make it better and bring it back to the community.”
The new playground will be built around a waterfall theme that ties into the history of its namesake, an American president who was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., near Niagara Falls. In addition to a spray shower intended to create the illusion of a waterfall, children can play in a model balloon and airplane as well as a line plastic storefronts representing a bank, school, and other shops.
“The park here hasn’t had play equipment in quite a long time,” said Gary Giordano, the district manager for Community Board 5, which includes Ridgewood. “That’s going to be a welcome, wonderful addition for all the children who live nearby.”
Reach reporter Dustin Brown by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 154.
