Heavy-duty fencing arrives as playground renovations continue in Tompkins Square Park

Renovation work started last Monday on the Tompkins Square Park Avenue B children’s playgrounds. (This project has been three-plus years in the making.)

Later last week, more sturdy fencing arrived on the southeast portion of the Park...



The entrances on Seventh Street at Avenue B and Eighth Street at Avenue B are closed, and will likely be that way for the duration of the renovations that are estimated to take 12 months.



According to the Parks Department website: "This project will reconstruct two playgrounds with new play equipment, safety surfacing, spray showers, seating and fencing.

And a schematic from the website...



The Parks Department is supplementing the project's funding with its Parks Without Borders initiative that would lower the fences from its present height of 7 feet to 4 feet, a move that stirred plenty of concern in early 2017.

Parks officials believe the shorter fences make the play areas safer — "lowering barriers that block sight lines discourages negative behavior while at the same time making the green space more open and aesthetically pleasing," as DNAinfo reported at the time.

Last we heard, in March 2017, Parks Department Commissioner Mitchell Silver was reportedly going to make the final determination on the fence lowering.

In an email last week, a Parks official confirmed that the new fence height will be 4 feet.



The newly fenced-off area is also where Christo and Amelia's nest is ... limiting access for prime hawk watching.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Your chance to brainstorm ideas to renovate the Tompkins Square Park Playground (27 comments)

Reminders: Meeting on possible improvements to the Tompkins Square Park Playground

Join Rosie Mendez to discuss improvements to the Tompkins Square playgrounds tomorrow night

Community meeting set to discuss lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park (28 comments)

Report: There's opposition to lowering the playground fences in Tompkins Square Park

Playground renovations underway in Tompkins Square Park