BY JASON COHEN
The city Parks Department
began work in September 2020
tearing up Loreto Park to repave
the multi-purpose playground
area with asphalt. Yet,
construction stopped in October,
and never restarted.
While the timeline for the
project calls for it to be done
by September, many people
are tired of looking at the same
mounds of dirt.
On July 12, Morris Park
residents led by Gene DeFrancis,
the president of the Allerton
International Merchant
Association, and Phyllis Nastasio
and Steve DeMartis, the
Republican leaders for the
80thDistrict, held a press conference
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 16 ULY 23-29, 2021 BTR
demanding the work at
the park get fi nished.
“We understand things
take time, DeFrancis said.
“They dug up the playground
and they walked away. We’re
here to say that our kids need
our parks back and they need
it now.”
Far too often, the city has
a habit of taking long periods
of time to fi nish projects and
this is simply unacceptable, he
added.
Making matters worse,
the Morris Park Business Improvement
District had to cancel
its summer concert series
at Loreto this year due to the
condition of the park.
“No one should sit back and
say ‘oh, it’s the city, that’s what
happens,’” DeFrancis said. “If
you start the work, fi nish the
work. We’re desperate for some
answers. We want the work to
start tomorrow.”
Aleksander Mici, a Republican
running for City Council
in the 13th District, is angry
about the situation. Mici feels
that the city is deliberately delaying
construction because
Morris Park held a “Back the
Blue” rally last summer.
“The mayor Bill de Blasio
does not like his own law enforcement
agency,” Mici said.
“Parks like this usually take
two weeks to fi x. The mayor
has been delinquent on his
job.”
DeMartis said he’s tired of
staring at what has turned into
a monstrosity of an eyesore.
This is supposed to be a place
for families and children to go,
he said, but for 10 months much
of the playground has been
completely inaccessible.“As
residents of the community we
pay taxes, we do our share and
to not be treated right infuriates
us,” he added. “We’re not
happy the way the park is.”
However, a Parks Department
spokesman, Dan Kastanis
said work was halted back in
Octoberdue to several items
that needed to be resolved. The
excess materials disposal plan
needed to be revised by the contractor
and approved by the
Parks Department. There was
also revisions to the electric
point of entry that had to be
coordinated with Con Edison.
Kastanis noted that both items
have since been completed and
the work is now expected to resume
in the coming weeks with
a targeted completion of September
as was projected in the
plan’s original timeline.
Morris Park resident Gene DeFrancis demands answers as to why renovations at Loreto Playground have taken
so long.
The unfi nished construction at Loreto Playground, which has looked the
same for the last 10 months. Photos Jason Cohen
Residents want Loreto
Playground fi nished