BY JESSICA PARKS
Dozens of Marine Parkers
met with the city Parks
Department to pitch ideas on
the upcoming redesign of the
neighborhood’s namesake playground,
with one pint-sized attendee
suggesting a need for
more “big kid” swings.
“I would like to see more
of the normal swings for the
bigger kids, because there are
hundreds of little kid swings
and there are mostly big kids
waiting,” said seven-year-old
Allison Strusser. “And I think
there should be more monkey
bars because there is only one
set of monkey bars.”
The resident designers
broke into fi ve groups — including
one comprised solely
of Marine Park pickleball players—
and brainstormed ideas
for the PS 278 play space, proposing
new play equipment for
disabled youngsters, toddler
areas, “slides that don’t get too
hot” and requests to move the
playground’s entrance.
“I want to see the entrances
moved,” said Carl Fischer. “And
I want to see one of the bocce
courts repaved with a multifunctional
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surface so that you
can have horseshoe pitching
and shuffl eboard.”
The redesign follows state
and city leaders uniting to pour
more than $11 million into the
park’s aging amenities — with
state Sen. Andrew Gounardes
securing $5.6 million for the
playground, Councilman Alan
Maisel providing another $4.5
million to restore the park’s inner
oval, and the remainder of
the funds from Brooklyn Borough
President Eric Adams.
The playground area, which
was last updated 20 years ago,
suffers from peeling paint, stagnant
pools of water that attract
mosquitoes and gnats, and deteriorating
safety mats on the
ground, according to the borough’s
chief greenspace guru.
“It is not the worst playground
in Brooklyn, but it is
defi nitely getting tired, the
safety surfaces have lost their
resiliency,” said Marty Maher.
“It could defi nitely use a reconstruction.”
The new funding comes
after Gounardes’ predecessor,
former state Sen. Marty
Golden, announced $4 million
for the playground days before
losing his re-election bid — after
which the promised funds
never materialized.
Reps for the Parks Department
claimed the money never
reached their department,
which sparked accusations
that the former senator made
the promise as a last-minute
scheme to garner votes ahead
of the hotly contested general
election.
“Marty Golden lied to Brooklyn
families and took credit for
money he did nothing to secure
and knew wasn’t coming,” Senate
Democratic spokesman
Gary Ginsburg told this paper
in September.
Senate Republicans instead
laid blame on the Parks Department,
who they said had failed
to fi ll out the necessary forms
to authorize the funds.
To prevent any likelihood of
a similar situation, Gounardes
promised in November that all
the required paperwork was
fi led and even went a step further
to negotiate with the city
Offi ce of Management and Budget
to expedite the state’s release
of the funds to ensure the
Parks Department didn’t have
to wait the typical two-years for
the money.
The spongy material of the playground
fl oor is deteriorating and
losing its color.
Photo by Jessica Parks
Play equipment at the park is in need of a fresh coat of paint.
Photo by Jessica Parks
Kidding around
Marine Parkers pitch handicap play areas, more
‘big kid swings’ for aging playground renovation
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