Playgrounds on Long Island get $6.1M from state for upgrades

Several Long Island playground projects will get a financial boost from the state with grants totaling $6.1 million, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced this week.

The projects are part of the first round of grants under the New York Places for Learning, Activity, and Youth Socialization program, which is open to municipalities, school districts and nonprofits to help pay for outdoor playgrounds. The state awarded $67.5 million for 89 projects across New York State.

Riverhead received the largest award on Long Island, $2.4 million, followed by the Village of Hempstead with $1.6 million and Chabad of Mid-Suffolk — one of two religious organizations in the state that received the grant — with $750,000. 

In Riverhead, the funding will help close a budget shortfall for a roughly $3.7 million planned adaptive playground, according to Community Development Director Dawn Thomas.

"Our goal is to draw people to the riverfront and to play," Thomas said in an interview.

The playground is a main component of the Town Square, a downtown revitalization project that also includes a new hotel, shops and restaurants, a public plaza, an outdoor amphitheater and access to the Peconic River.

Carissa Collins, an associate administrator in the town’s community development office, said the playground was designed to be a "destination" that will draw families downtown to shop, eat and visit the Long Island Aquarium.

The playground will feature a fishing-boat-shaped play area and 16-foot slide shaped like a kingfisher, as well as a splash pad, sensory equipment and a wheelchair-accessible pathway and slides.

The playground and other elements of the lower town square also double as flood mitigation, Thomas said.

The playground at Kennedy Memorial Park in the Village of Hempstead will expand to address overcrowding, better accommodate children with disabilities, and provide shade and seating.

"There was a time when we didn't have the attendance that we have now when we have our summer concert events, community activities," Village Mayor Waylyn Hobbs Jr. said in an interview. "We're seeing more and more residents bringing their kids out. They feel safe to have their kids at the playground, and so we're going to add more features to our playground."

The project will also add a bathroom next to the playground so that people won't need to go inside the recreation building at the park to use the restroom. The project is expected to cost $2.5 million, with the village making up for the remaining costs after the $1.6 million grant, Hobbs said. 

In Commack, the Chabad of Mid-Suffolk synagogue is using the $750,000 grant to build a community park and playground on Jericho Turnpike to provide youth a place to meet.

"We wanted to use the opportunity to be of service and to provide space that the entire community could benefit from," Rabbi Mendel Teldon, director of the synagogue, said in an interview.

The synagogue plans to have four different sections of the park — including sections for toddlers, young children, teenagers and the community at large.

"That will give accessibility to a very wide array of kids and families to be able to make use of the park," Teldon said.

Hochul's office said in a news release that the grant program is part of her "Unplug and Play" initiative, which is intended to get kids outside and off their screens. 

"Playgrounds give children a place to be active, build friendships and connect with the world around them," Hochul said in an news release. "These projects will give more New York families opportunities to put down their devices, spend time together and build healthy habits that can last a lifetime."

Newsday's Jean-Paul Salamanca contributed to this story.