By Howard Koplowitz
Just in time for summer, the city Parks Department upgraded the park house at the Bellerose Playground this month after the structure had been closed for 10 years because of vandalism.
Sylvia Miles, a Parks employee who helps supervise the Bellerose Playground, said new tiles and doors were placed in the bathrooms to make them usable.
"The tile was graffitied up and it was black," Miles said. "The people in the neighborhood are glad that the bathrooms were installed."
Floral Park resident Roberta Hanlon, who was at the playground Monday with her 7-year-old son Robert, said before the upgrade she would have to drive her son home to use the bathroom.
"I'm so glad the facilities are open. It's about time," Hanlon said. "Job well done."
Miles said Parks is considering updating the playground equipment and adding monkey bars, basketball courts and a sprinkler.
"If you go to more of the parks, they're more updated" than the Bellerose Playground, she said.
Miles said the children "create their own activities because there's not much in here."
The park house on 85th Avenue near 249th Street in Bellerose was closed for 10 years and reopened June 16.
Fixing the structure was among the priorities of Community Board 13, which covers the Bellerose Playground.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
