Several Queens community leaders and members gathered at Cunningham Park on Monday, Dec. 9, to mark the opening of the reconstructed 21oth Street playground with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Among those on hand to celebrate the completion of this project were Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, New York City Council Member Linda Lee, former New York City Council Member Barry Grodenchik, and New York City Parks Queens Borough Commissioner Jacqueline Langsam.
The Queens Borough President’s Office and the New York City Council devoted a total of $3.8 million towards transforming the 210th Street playground and its surrounding green space. This transformation includes new playground equipment, updated seating and game tables, spray showers and more.
Some of the playground equipment includes separate jungle gyms for kids aged 2-5 and those aged 5-12. The playground has a woodland theme, with a log cabin-style treehouse, boulders for climbing and interactive ways for kids who play there to learn about the local flora and fauna. This theme is meant to reflect Cunningham Park’s Forever Wild forest.
The spray shower is intended to help keep park visitors cool during the summer months. There are also new shade trees that will help park visitors relax comfortably as they enjoy the outdoors.
In addition to the updated seating and game tables, other new notable features from this project include updated bike racks and freshly paved surfaces. Safety was also a priority in the work that was done, with security lighting and restructured entrance paths fulfilling this aspect while still allowing for surrounding trees and new plantings to thrive and grow. All this is meant to ensure the 210th Street playground is a vital retreat for Cunningham Park visitors.
“The transformation of the 210th Street playground in Cunningham Park is a dynamic, fun, and inviting new green space for children and adults to enjoy,” Langsam said. “With funding from the Borough President and the City Council, we are excited to see parks like this come alive, providing the engaging amenities that New Yorkers deserve. The upgraded play features, improved seating and plantings, and additional security lighting will allow this playground to serve as a focal point for the community for years to come.”
“Anyone who’s walked through Cunningham Park knows it feels more like a forest than it does part of the five boroughs, so it only makes sense that the children of Oakland Gardens have a state-of-the-art new woodland-themed 210th Street Playground to enjoy,” Richards said. “Investing in our parks is about more than just new playing surfaces, however. It’s about giving families positive and productive places to socialize, grow and bond with their neighbors and the outdoors. As both the Borough President and the father of a nine-year-old, I couldn’t be prouder to have allocated $44 million to our parks since taking office, and I look forward to continue growing our partnership with NYC Parks in the years to come.”
In 2020, then-Borough President Melinda Katz’s Office committed $3 million to this project. Then-Council Member Barry Grodenchik added another $800,000 to this project.
“It is a privilege to attend today’s ribbon cutting of the renovated 210th Street Playground. These new fixtures and equipment will serve our community for years to come,” Lee said. “Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and I thank our predecessors, Melinda Katz and Barry Grodenchik, for their funding of this project. Preserving and improving our public spaces is a baton that is passed across the generations of our community and its elected officials.”
