Parks to overhaul Owls Head, JJ Carty
BY ROSE ADAMS
Two Bay Ridge playgrounds
will receive much-needed
makeovers with modernized
play equipment, improved
drainage, and a new-and-improved
layout, according to redesigns
unveiled last week.
The renovations for John
J. Carty Park and Owl’s Head
Park, which will cost $9.4 million
combined, aim to bring the
playgrounds up to snuff and incorporate
some of the recommendations
local parents made
in an October meeting, according
to a Parks Department representative.
“We’re looking at the playground
equipment; we’re looking
at the spray shower; we’re
looking at reconfi guring the
area so it’s more safe and secure
for the kids to play,” said
architect Denise Mattes at a
March 4 Community Board 10
meeting.
A $5.4 million makeover
of John J. Carty Park, located
on Fort Hamilton Parkway by
95th Street and often called just
JJ Carty Park, will overhaul
the play area’s layout, replace
the playground and the spray
shower, provide additional
drainage, install appropriate
seating, and add lighting for security,
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Mattes said.
The revamped playground
will contain two new jungle
gyms for kids ages 2 to 5 years
old and 5 to 12 years old; two
ping pong tables and other
game tables; and new swing
sets with four bucket swings
for babies, four fl at swings for
older children, and an ADAcompliant
swing.
The new grounds will also
move the play equipment closer
together, said the playground’s
designer.
The grounds will be surrounded
by four-foot-tall fences
(down from the the seven-foot
fences currently at the playground),
and will feature inventive,
new elements — such
as colorful painted lines that
lead to different parts of the
play area.
“I worked with an occupational
therapist on a project
that was done for an elementary
school,” said Mattes. “These
classroom fl oor decals were
done in order to promote a number
of different things in terms
of growth and development.”
Meanwhile, a $4 million
makeover of the playground at
Owl’s Head Park on Colonial
The proposed playground redesign for Owl’s Head Park. NYC Parks
Road by 67th Street will include
updates to the playground’s
jungle gyms, spray showers,
benches, asphalt, and drainage
systems.
The playground — which
has not been renovated for 25
years — will remain mostly
the same shape because of the
large, shaded trees that encircle
the area, said architect Aurora
Davis.
In southern play area, kids
will fi nd updated jungle gyms
for kids 2 to 5 and 5 to 12, and an
expanded swing set with four
bucket swings for babies, four
strap swings for older kids, an
ADA compliant swing, and a
child-parent swing. The playground’s
northern half will
contain a quiet play area, a
smaller spray shower space,
picnic tables, and benches.
The current playground
only has fi ve bucket swings
and two tire swings, which the
Parks Department no longer
uses because a number of injuries,
according to Parks.
Central to the renovation is
the updated asphalt and storm
water capture systems, preventing
future water damage
that has long-plagued the park.
Construction on both playgrounds
is slated to begin summer
of 2022 and end one year
later, although COVID-19 related
delays may push back the
project’s start time. Both playgrounds
will remain closed
for the duration of the renovations.
The new playgrounds,
whose funding was allocated
by Councilmember Justin
Brannan in 2020, are part of a
slate of park renovations spearheaded
by the pol recent years.
In January, Bensonhurst Park
Playground opened following
an extensive revamp, and
renovations for Russell Pedersen
Playground and Vinland
Playground are currently in
the works. Owl’s Head Park
will also receive new basketball
courts, the legislator announced
last fall.
1620A Voorhies Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11235.
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Phone: 718-996-3000