Photo: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila
First renovation since 1997
NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue, Council Member David Carr, Principal Deanna Marco and students from P.S. 9, and community members cut the ribbon on a $3.115 million renovation of Naples Playground in Concord, Staten Island. The renovation of the play areas and basketball courts was made possible through Council Member David Carr.
“I’m so happy that neighborhood kids and nearby PS 9 and PS 48 schoolchildren can now take advantage of the new amenities at the renovated Naples Playground, with a new spray shower just in time for summer,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue. “Thanks to Council Member Carr for advocating for these renovations, and I look forward to seeing kids play here this summer and in the years to come!”
“Naples Playground has been a staple for the community since its opening in 1965. I played here as a young neighborhood kid and have so many fond memories of my time in this park. I am glad the children of Grasmere and beyond will finally be able to enjoy the new state-of-the-art basketball courts and play area. A special thank you to New York City Parks and to my predecessor, Steven Matteo, for funding this project,” said Council Member David Carr.
The renovations include new play areas for kids ages 2-5 and 5-12, a new spray shower, repaved basketball courts, and sustainability features such as enlarged plant beds and permeable pavers. The basketball courts were redesigned and repaved to best serve the needs of P.S. 9, which uses the area during the day. There are full and half basketball courts, a track, and a baseball diamond available.
Naples Playground is a jointly operated playground maintained by Parks and the adjacent P.S. 9. Jointly operated playgrounds were created with the Department of Education in 1938. Schoolchildren from P.S. 9 were able to participate in a community input meeting during the design process for the renovation.
For the first 20 years of its existence, Naples Playground bore the official title of P.S. 48 Playground, and was known locally as Concord Playground, for the surrounding neighborhood of Concord. The name was changed to Naples in 1985, by Parks Commissioner Henry Stern. The playground’s namesake, Naples Street, is somewhat of an asphalt ghost. Like several of its neighbors, the street was never officially listed on city maps. Most probably, Naples Street and the nearby Rome, Venice, and Columbus Streets are the remnants of an unsuccessful development effort, or just local names for an area that housed many new Italian immigrant families.
A 1997-98 renovation, sponsored by Mayor Giuliani for $166,500, provided for the refurbishing of the comfort station and the installation of new asphalt pavement and safety surfacing. Today, the playground is enclosed by chain link and steel picket fences. There is a semi-circular sitting area with World’s Fair benches, a ballfield, basketball and handball courts, play structures, swings, hanging bars, Belgian Blocks, and asphalt surfacing for roller skating and other activities.
There is an impressively diverse set of trees species at the site, including London planetrees, Red maples, Sweet gums, White oaks, Silver lindens, European white birches, Eastern redbuds, Korean dogwoods, Cornelian cherry dogwoods, Japanese snowball, Flowering plums, Eastern white pines, and White cedars.
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