This playspace is set to play a new role!
The city plans to break ground on much-needed renovations to a dilapidated Gowanus playground this week, according to the local pol, who said shuttering one of the few open parks in the neighborhood is an inconvenience, but that the improvements will be worth it for youngsters once it’s shiny and new.
“These upgrades will have a real positive impact on the neighborhood, and soon children from Gowanus, Park Slope, and beyond will have a safer, cleaner place to play,” said Councilman Brad Lander (D–Gowanus).
Workers will stick their shovels in the dirt at Ennis Playground on July 30 to outfit the 11th Street meadow — sandwiched between a Department of Sanitation depot, private homes, and 12th Street — with new basketball courts, a swing set, artificial turf, and separate play areas for smaller youngsters and bigger kids.
The Parks Department is also installing a so-called infiltration garden — similar to one going in nearby at Park Slope’s Green Playground also in Lander’s district — to prevent dirty run-off water from floating into the fetid Gowanus Canal amid its ongoing scrub and once its purified of toxins, according to agency spokeswoman Meghan Lalor.
The gardens help absorb rain water instead of flushing it towards the city’s sewer system underground, said Lalor.
Meadow stewards will also add water fountains and more seating for park-goers, according to Lander, who together with the city agency and Borough President Adams provided $2.7 million in funding for the long-awaited revamp.
Lander said the community is invited to an Aug. 22 groundbreaking ceremony at the playground, which is expected to reopen after about a year of work, according to the Parks Department.
