Jackson Heights students and residents looked forward to the reopening of the court at Northern Playground.
“I was waiting for a long time for this to open and it finally opened and I am very happy,” said the boy Gabriel Moyano.
“Imagine, seeing the children run around that place, even if we have daughters but they also like soccer, even I want to play there too, imagine”, said Syria Santiago.
The new court includes synthetic grass, basketball hoops and backboards, a water feature, new benches, a new drainage system and safety nets.
“If you see that we are surrounded by all the apartments that have nowhere to play and the children need a space to run and have fun,” explained Jessica Pulgada, project development coordinator for the Parks department.
The $ 1.75 million project, which began in 2019, ended five months ahead of schedule.
In this three-mile-wide neighborhood, there are two more parks, but they don’t supply a population of nearly 63,000 residents, according to community board members.
Parque Northern.
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“So, some of the parents got together and started asking the councilor, the Parks department if they could advance the process to open the field earlier and give it access to the community and also to the students,” said Anna Moyano, from the leadership board of Public School 149.
After these improvements, some residents of the area also ask for more security to avoid the presence of criminals in the park.
“Well, more than anything, more security, because then many little children come and we do not want accidents to happen, much less be afraid of people who sometimes come to smoke, improper things, well, you never know how those people are going to react, right “said a neighbor.
Daniel Dromm, the area councilor, told us that he is aware of this problem, and that they now have the police patrolling the area frequently.
“The safety of this park is very important to me. We know that we deserve a park that has security, that the community can use and they don’t have to be afraid that they are running in this park, “said Dromm.
“The lawns are always greener in Jackson Heights, especially now that we renovated Northern Playground at a cost of $ 1.7 million! During my 12 years in office, I made sure all the parks in my district were funded and renovated.” The councilor also wrote in a message on social networks.
The turf is always greener in Jackson Heights especially now that we renovated Northern Playground at a cost of $1.7M! During my 12 years in office, I made sure every park in my district was funded & redone. TY @NYCParks @QnsBPRichards. Special TY to Joanne Amagrande. pic.twitter.com/o54DNF3wsv
– Daniel Dromm (@ Dromm25) November 30, 2021
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