Politics & Government

Equipment To Be Replaced On Pier C Park

It's still unclear when the park will open.

The state of the art equipment in Pier C Park, that gets scorching hot in the sunshine, will be replaced, said Director of Environmental Services Jennifer Maier. After tabling the issue for several meetings, City Council approved the purchase of new equipment and a shade canopy with money from a special fund dedicated to Pier A and Pier C during last Wednesday's council meeting. 

The pieces of equipment in question are a steel dome, the end of a slide, as well as several bounce buttons and a small slide in the so-called "toddler area" of the park. The shade structure—which will be placed to protect the end of the park's long slide—will cost roughly $38,000 and the new equipment for the "toddler area" will be $45,000, said Maier. 

When asked if she would let her own child play on the equipment, Maier answered, "God no. You can't touch it for half a second." The director said she has visited the park, which is still closed to the public, several times during extremely hot days. 

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Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who took a selected group of children to test the park's equipment in June, said in a previous conversation that she wanted to keep the original equipment, because of the time and effort put in the design. 

A similar dome as the one on Pier C was placed in a park in Brooklyn, where several kids burnt themselves on a hot day, according to an article in the New York Daily News. Councilman-at-Large David Mello has expressed his concerns about the equipment during council meetings, citing the article. 

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Zimmer, in an earlier interview, said she spoke to New York City's parks commissioner, who told her that "children in New York City absolutely love the domes." Zimmer went down the extra long slide herself (slides this length aren't manufactured in the United States, Maier said) and said the end of the slide could maybe go without shade structure, because children don't spend much time at the end of it. According to Maier the end of the slide is too hot and a shade structure is definitely needed. 

Zimmer said Pier C Park is supposed to provide children with a "unique" playing experience. During a recent council meeting, Fourth Ward Councilman Michael Lenz said that he didn't want cheaper, plastic play equipment because it would ruin the aesthetics of the park. 

But, said Maier about the equipment during last week's meeting, "it's burning hot to the touch and cannot stay."

The equipment with which the dome and bouncing buttons will be replaced is also unique and "very nice," said Maier. 

Another part of the hold-up with the park—which earlier this year was predicted to open on July 1—is the railing along the pier. The material needs to come from Europe and has taken longer than expected. 

Last week, Maier said that the railing is "99 percent done," and the city is currently waiting for the corner pieces. "The railings are not going to hold us up," Maier said.

It's still unclear when the park will open. 


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