Questions mount as Marine Park playground reconstruction stalls
Daniel McNamara and his two children go to the P.S. 278 playground in Marine Park about two to three times a week during the summer. And they've noticed equipment conditions getting worse.
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Parents and children are begging for answers as a playground in Marine Park sits in disrepair after renovation plans were announced more than six years ago.
Daniel McNamara and his two children go to the P.S. 278 playground in Marine Park about two to three times a week during the summer. And they've noticed equipment conditions getting worse.
“This is not stable!” said 8-year-old Charlotte McNamara, as she described a piece of play equipment.
“You gotta have eagle eyes because the kids are going to get hurt doing the things they’re supposed to do on the equipment,” Daniel McNamara said.
Meanwhile, the entire playground was supposed to be fully renovated. Back in January 2020, plans to reconstruct the park were announced. It was projected to take about three years to complete.
Now, more than six years later, there have been no changes to the park.
“They did a land survey, but I haven’t seen anything else happen since then,” Daniel McNamara said.
This comes less than a month after the splash pad in the park was the site of issues from trash-clogged drains.
“Every time the sprinklers turn on, sometimes it makes a big flood,” 6-year-old Owen McNamara said.
News 12 cameras were also at the park after pooling water was sitting for weeks and garbage is still scattered around the splash pad.
“It’s definitely in rough shape,” Daniel McNamara said.
The city’s parks department tells News 12 it is working with the Department of Environmental Protection to get the necessary approvals and the project is expected to enter its next phase by the end of the year
After that, NYC Parks projects typically take another two and a half years to be fully completed.
