City leaders gathered Nov. 14 at Boone Playground to break ground on long-overdue upgrades that will create a more inclusive, safe and environmentally friendly space.
The Longwood play area, triangled between Sheridan Boulevard, West Farms Road and Boone Ave., last received significant investment in the late 1990s.
Now, it is undergoing an $8.4 million transformation that has been years in the making and was planned with input from students from special education students at P.S. X811 across the street.
The new park will feature separate areas for younger and older kids, table games, an ADA-accessible carousel, a playhouse, safety surfacing, basketball courts, fitness equipment, plants, a spray shower, hopscotch, tic-tac-toe and a variety of seating options.
For the first time, the playground will also include safety lighting, a public restroom building and upgraded drainage to prevent flooding.
Overall, the new design will make better use of the large space, as one entire corner of the 1.2-acre playground had been covered in patchy grass with no amenities.
Within about a year, Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa said the park will be transformed into “a more usable, welcoming and engaging space.”
Etta Ritter, district manager of Community Board 3, said the groundbreaking marked “a milestone that started several years ago.”
The project design began in 2022, she said, and garnered investment from elected officials past and present, including former Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., former Council Member Ruben Diaz Sr. and current Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr.
Ritter said the once ”underutilized” park could start hosting community events and will be a more welcoming space for all.
“It represents what we can accomplish when agencies, elected officials and community boards and residents work together towards a shared vision,” she said. “This is how we build a stronger Bronx.”
Salamanca Jr., who is term-limited out of office at the end of the year, said he has invested $50 million in his district’s parks and playgrounds throughout his tenure.
Now, raising his son in the same neighborhood he grew up, “there’s nothing greater than to know that I’ve made an impact in the revitalization of the South Bronx,” Salamanca Jr. said.
Assembly Member Emerita Torres said that the tough reputation of Bronxites comes from the fact that “we have to fight for years, for decades, for generations for green space, for playgrounds that suit us, for cultural spaces that meet our needs.”
As for Daniel Boone Playground, “This is a fight that we won,” Torres said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
