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PHOTO: Ariel Harris
by Tammy McKillip
The evening was monstrously hot on Wednesday, July 20. Throughout Manhattan, open fire hydrants and playground spray elements brought cooling relief to children in bathing suits or drenched street clothes. At Emerson Playground, in Inwood Hill Park, however, a sweaty, bewildered toddler peered longingly through the cast iron padlocked gates at the empty swings, abandoned slides and the dry fountain.
“Emerson playground …does not get the attention it deserves,” said Ute Keyes, a neighborhood mom and daily visitor to the park. ”It is [probably] one of the most densely populated playgrounds in Northern Manhattan. In particular, since Indian Road Playground is closed for renovation, it deserves more attention, in my opinion. But it has been put on the back burner in terms of upkeep and attention.”
After repeated calls to 311 by irritated parents, the playground has, apparently, been put on the front burner.
The temporary lockout —disappointing as it was for the children (who had to make the uphill trek to Payson and Dyckman Streets when they wanted cool off and play,)—was, said Parks representative, Cristina DeLuca, the first in a series of steps in to address some of the playground’s problems—problems which, according to Keyes, include cracked sidewalks, messy puddles, broken and aging swing sets, unsightly and ineffective temporary fencing and a general lack of landscaping and upkeep. And many of the problems, she added, have plagued the playground and its guests for nearly two years.
Keyes said she questions the Parks administration’s priorities, wondering if the tennis courts—which appear to be in good and usable shape—really need to be redone.
“Who is setting the priorities here?” she asked.
“We would love to reconstruct the playground,” said Northern Parks Administrator Jennifer Hoppa. She suggested that parents concerned with the condition of the playground contact their local elected officials and community board to help increase the likeliness that their preferred parks project gets funded, since projects chosen for funding are “directly influenced by constituency.”
According to Hoppa, between 2007 and 2013 New York City Parks will have spent an “incredible amount of money” on Community Board 12 – $140 million spread out over 40 capital projects. She said the community had Council Member Robert Jackson and Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat to thank for funding the resurfacing of sidewalks and park paths.
“Our elected officials are extremely generous to parks,” she said. “It’s just that we are almost on third parks up here…”
As far as the recent shut down and plumbing repair at Emerson, Hoppa said, masons have managed, as of July 22, to temporarily correct drainage to “band-aid” the problem.
“They weren’t able to address the [water] lines without hurting the trees,” she said, but added that the problems may eventually be fixed after the Indian Road Playground is re-opened and more funding can be drawn from future work that is already scheduled on the tennis courts.
For the rest of the summer, the spray elements at Emerson Playground will be turned on only during the hottest part of the day to help avoid drainage problems.
Though Keyes considers Emerson playground to be “the worst playground in Inwood, in terms of equipment, space and upkeep,” she said she will continue to bring her son there because of its proximity to her home and the friendly atmosphere and people who hang out at the park. She said she feels fortunate to have easy access to Inwood Hill Park, which she considers, “an oasis, [with its combination of] playgrounds, open fields, water, wildlife [and] forests.”
Happy that the playground is finally getting some attention, she said, “I think a lot of people don’t report these problems because they either don’t care, or they think nothing will change anyway, so why waste time? Well, I do care. I care about where I live. I believe in the power of community and in spreading the word.”
Daniel P. Bader contributed to this story.
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