Friday, July 17, 2009

Just in time for the rest of summer: The Tompkins Square Park playground has reopened




Reopened yesterday. And it looks very nice too. I would go in, but I don't have any kids. And would seem like a perv. Maybe. Anyway! It closed last August.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Tompkins Square Park playground completion now set for summer

4 comments:

Marnie said...

It is very nice, if a long time coming. I wonder how long it takes until the sandbox becomes a den for rats, laced with toxoplasmosis. But as of yesterday the sand was clean and the crews did an excellent job of cleaning frequently, scooping up escaped sand and keeping everything tidy.

The sprinklers are fantastic. Buttons allow the kids to control them, turning the water streams on and ooff. The streams are arranged in such a way that parents can stand close, benefit from the drop in temperature, and yet not get wet.

The whole park seems bigger. there is more to do and yet more open space, too. A well-thought out design, to be sure. the area for smaller children is large and not uninteresting. Many hammocks and small seating areas under the slides and bridges provide shaded areas for kids to sit and relax for a bit.

The ground treatment is great - spongey and absorbent - so no huge puddles fester creating mosquito swamps. It's a little slippery, though, but kids bounce right up with minimal cuts and scrapes from the rubbery surface.

The best part, though, is that they have fenced in the ubiquitous "pee-pee tree" where parents foully allowed children to urinate rather than walking the 50 feet to the bathroom. It got so you couldn't sit on that side of the playground once temperatures hit 90 or so. I really hope no one finds a new place to piss. Like the sandbox.

EV Grieve said...

Hi Marnie. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the playground. Seems as if it was a long time coming! Regardless, glad it opened with a good chunk of the summer left.

Barbara L. Hanson said...

Functional it may be, but I find it extremely ugly. All shiny and machinelike; reminds me more of a vodka ad than a playground.

Mark Jacobs said...

Great post, thanksMark Jacobs