Volume 80, Number 8 | July 22 – 28, 2010
West and East Village, Chelsea, Soho, Noho, Little Italy, Chinatown and Lower East Side, Since 1933
Photo courtesy NYC Council
Can you dig it? Rehab starts at MinettaPlayground
On Monday, officials and park advocates broke ground for renovations at Minetta Playground, on Sixth Ave. between W. Third St. and Minetta Lane. From left were Pari Duloc of the Minetta Block Association; Tobi Bergman, Community Board 2 Parks Committee chairperson; Amy Clare and her son James; Bill Castro, Manhattan borough Parks Department commissioner; City Council Speaker Christine Quinn; and, behind her, Heather Campbell and her daughter, Shelby. The project’s price tag is $1,537,000, with the Council allocating $937,000 and the Mayor’s Office giving $600,000. The construction is expected to last one year. “Minetta Playground has been an eyesore for the families in one of Manhattan’s most vibrant neighborhoods,” said Quinn. “With the ambitious redesign we begin today, this playground will soon reflect the distinctive tastes and personality of the neighborhood and provide a safer environment ripe for the enjoyment for all of New York’s kids.” The plan includes removal of the existing storage building, upgrades to lighting fixtures, and the use of open play structures to increase visibility and safety in the playground. To be installed are modern play equipment, swings, a spray shower, new safety surfaces, a play house, a deck pathway, decorative pavements, new benches, game tables, fencing, a bicycle rack, a new drinking fountain and a storm drainage system. It will take its theme from Minetta Brook, which once flowed aboveground at the location.
