Plans are in the works for a facelift to the center and rear portions of Power Playground located at Avenue N, between East 49th Street and Utica Avenue, as announced by Community Board18 District Manager Sue Ann Partnow at the May 25th meeting of the 63rd Precinct Community Council.
Partnow gave a brief update about the Power Playground Phase 2 Public Scope meeting hosted by the Parks Department Partnerships for Parks and held virtually on Zoom on May 19th.. The plans include reconstruction of the multipurpose play area for a skate park and basketball court.
“People came up with a lot of different ideas; they’d like to see exercise in the park — I suggested pickleball,” Partnow said.
The proposed skate park is only in the beginning design phase, but there has been talk of the removal of the decrepit bocce court at the back, opposite the Avenue N side of the park, to make room for its construction.
Partnow said that some people wanted to see a dog park since there wasn’t one nearby, but the main issue was lighting. “They’re fixing it up so light it up,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”
The park is situated in a mixed-use industrial and commercial section of Flatlands with Utica Avenue and Avenue N providing the main traffic. It is flanked in the rear by an MTA bus depot and faces a hotel and a NYC Department of Sanitation Garage on East 49th Street.
Area residents are also concerned that the reconstruction include restroom facilities, which the park currently does not have on its premises due to the high expense associated with that type of construction.
According to the Parks Department website, the project is funded with between $3 and $5 million by the Office of the Borough President, and the City Council and has been delayed due to COVID-related impacts.
Contact information for the Parks Department/Partnerships for Parks Outreach Coordinator Hannah Bossio is at tel. 718-965-8992 or email Hannah.bossio@parks.nyc.gov.