Mayor says playgrounds will remain closed, despite calls from cooped-up communities
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Wooden planks wrap around the playground at Grover Cleveland Park in Ridgewood. Eagle photo by David Brand, Inset photo via Mayoral Photography Office
By David Brand
A ramshackle wooden fence collapses on top of the equipment at the Grover Cleveland Park playground in Ridgewood, a block from the Maspeth border. Tangled metal wires block the entrance to the rings and monkey bars, a makeshift setup reminiscent of a World War I trench barricade.
It will stay that way until at least Monday, despite calls to reopen playgrounds to cooped-up kids across New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday.
“The second we open up playgrounds, I think it's a safe bet they'll be filled, you know, 10 hours or more a day, every day,” de Blasio said during a daily press briefing. “The number of people, and remember how many hundreds upon hundreds of playgrounds we're talking about all over New York City, talking about a huge number of people concentrated every single day.
“We get to the point working with the state where we say, we're all clear for Phase Two, that's a natural time to start acting on playgrounds,” he added.
De Blasio initially said New York City would not enter Phase Two of the reopening plan until at least July. He and Gov. Andrew Cuomo now say it could be Monday.
Already, many New Yorkers have decided to forego the city’s public health guidance by returning to the locked up or fenced off playgrounds. Members of the Satmar Hasidic Jewish community cut locks blocking a Brooklyn park and posted the video on Twitter, for example.
At the playground in Ridgewood — where children ran and played next to the fenced-off equipment — mothers pushed toddlers in the swings Wednesday morning.
Wires block children from the rings and monkey bars at Grover Cleveland Park in Ridgewood. Eagle photo by David Brand
A few local elected officials and candidates have joined the call to reopen playgrounds.
Elizabeth Crowley, a candidate for Queens Borough President, visited the locked playground at P.S. 164 in Kew Gardens Hills and stood with community members to demand the city open the gates. Playground elsewhere in the state, including nearby Nassau County, have reopened playgrounds and parks.
It’s been over 100 days since the playgrounds have been closed and over a week since the city opened up,” Crowley said. “With summer programs and plans in limbo, families and children need to be able to play outside in a safe way through masks and social distancing. Let’s not wait any longer.”
Flushing Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal criticized what he called an “arbitrary set of standards” for reopening some locations and not others. He called on de Blasio and the Parks Department to reopen playgrounds “immediately.”
“As City parks and beaches reopen, we have seen hundreds of residents take advantage of public space. However, schoolyards remain closed to our children,” Rosenthal said. “After months of Zoom classes and social isolation, our students deserve the opportunity to safely enjoy recreational space.”
