City greenspace gurus welcomed locals to a spiffy new Gravesend park on Thursday, capping off a three-year, $4.5 million effort to transform an asphalt slab into sprawling public parkland, said the area’s local councilman.
“Before, it was a broken pile of concrete,” said Mark Treyger. “For many years, students complained that it wasn’t a playground.”
Lafayette Playground on Stillwell Avenue and Bay 43rd Street now features over an acre of synthetic grass, adult fitness equipment, and a state-of-the-art basketball court — as well as a revamped playground for kids that opened last July.
Treyger — who pushed the Mayor’s Community Park’s Initiative to fund the multi-million dollar project — said the new park’s design was the result of a communal effort after several meetings with Gravesend locals.
“This park was the result of a stunning cooperation,” Treyger said. “It’s one of the most beautiful parks I have seen.”
The park’s opening is one of several parks renovations in the area, including projects in Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, and several other in Coney Island and Gravesend.
