By Patrick Donachie
Elected officials, community leaders, students and faculty from Catherine and Count Basie Middle School 72 in Rochdale Village broke ground on construction of a new playground at a ceremony Tuesday.
The reconstruction of the school playground at 33-25 Guy R. Brewer Blvd. will cost $2.5 million and will be paid for by capital improvement project grants from the offices of Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica) and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. The school is near the Rochdale Village housing complex
“A playground is a vital element of a child’s education. If it’s neglected, not only will it decay, but our young men and women’s minds and bodies will do the same,” Wills said in a statement. “The playground at Catherine and Count Basie had been lacking in upkeep for more than a decade, and its dilapidated condition came to attract attention from negative influences.”
The reconstruction of the playground is expected to be completed by next April and will include an interchangeable basketball and volleyball court, an outdoor classroom and a turf field with a three-lane track.
The remaking of the playground was spurred by a letter Wills wrote to the city Department of Education, according to Wills’ office. The chain link fence surrounding the playground is also set to be taken out and replaced with a steel gate fence. The playground will include new trees as well as benches that are created in the style of the 1964 World’s Fair. The playground will be open to the public before and after school hours.
Students and faculty, including MS 72 Principal Omotayo Cineus, were on hand to dip shovels into the freshly unearthed ground. During the ceremony, Cineus expressed her appreciation for the allocation of funds to pay for the new playground.
“We look forward to the future use of this new playground, which will afford the young people of Catherine and Count Basie Middle School social, emotional, athletic and academic experiences and memories,” she said.
Reach reporter Patrick Donachie by e-mail at pdona
