Schoolyards to become playgrounds

Two schoolyards in western Queens will get an upgrade along with more than 200 others citywide, so that every New Yorker lives within ten-minutes walking distance from a park.
Officials estimated that the renovations at both P.S. 199, at 39-20 48th Avenue in Sunnyside, and Academy for New Americans, at 28-04 41st Avenue in Long Island City, would at least be fully planned if not completed by 2009.
“The plans for renovating schoolyard playgrounds under PlaNY’s ‘The Schoolyards to Playgrounds Initiative’ are still in the early stages, including those at P.S. 199 and the Academy of New Americans,” wrote NYC Parks Department spokesperson Abigail Lootens. “However, we have consultants in place and are in the process of formalizing the rolling construction schedule for all playgrounds to be renovated.”
In July, Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the announcement that 221 playgrounds across the city would be fixed up, and 69 others, which are already equipped with play areas, would be opened to the public after school and on weekends from 8 a.m. until dusk.
“Today marks the start of realizing a central goal of the PlaNYC agenda - making sure all New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of a park or playground,” Bloomberg said, while making the original announcement. “To make this goal a reality, we’re renovating and opening 290 school playgrounds, constructing 8 new regional parks, completing bike lanes, lighting ball fields, turfing asphalt fields, expanding the greenway network, and opening up the waterfront to the public in every corner of the city.”
Lootens wrote that the individual design and equipment to be installed at each playground would be decided on through “a participatory design process that will seek the input of the schools, the principals, and children at each site.”
City officials believe that more than 400,000 kids and their families will have easy access to the playgrounds by 2030.
Assemblymember Catherine Nolan, who represents the area, applauded the Mayor’s effort to open playgrounds in western Queens.
“Parks and playgrounds are an essential part of what makes a community a wonderful place to live. A local park is a place where neighbors talk, children play and great things happen as a result,” Nolan said. “I am thrilled about this initiative because what we invest in our green spaces reflects our values. Making our existing school play yards available after school hours allows us to inspire a host of benefits by promoting physical activity and encouraging face-to-face interaction instead of remaining isolated in our homes watching television, playing video games, or surfing the Internet.”