May 23, 2019

New Green Infrastructure Will Capture One Million Gallons of Stormwater Each Year and Improve the Health of the East River and Newtown Creek

$2 Million Playground is Part of Governor Cuomo’s “Vital Brooklyn” Community Development Initiative

Photos are Available on DEP’s Flickr Page

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Vincent Sapienza, The Trust for Public Land New York State Director Carter Strickland, New York State Parks, the Brooklyn Nets, State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Assembly Member Tremaine Wright, and Council Member Robert Cornegy joined on May 23 with students and faculty to open a new, student-designed green community playground at M.S. 354 & KIPP AMP Academy Middle and Elementary Schools in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The $2 million playground is part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s “Vital Brooklyn” initiative, a community development program bringing necessary resources to underserved neighborhoods in Central Brooklyn, and now brings more than 30,000 Crown Heights residents within a 10-minute walk of a park. The completed playground includes green infrastructure elements that will capture one million gallons of stormwater each year, which will help to improve the health of the nearby East River and Newtown Creek.

“DEP is a proud partner of The Trust for Public Land’s Playground Program, which is transforming asphalt playgrounds across the city into new green spaces for the whole community,” said DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza. “The green infrastructure installed at this playground will help to reduce stormwater runoff, improve the health of the surrounding waterways, and beautify the neighborhood.”

“The Trust for Public Land has worked hard on its initiative to bring great green space into communities without park access,” said Carter Strickland, New York State Director for the Trust for Public Land. “Parks are important spaces for exercise, recreation, and community building, and this playground will improve the well-being of the entire Crown Heights community. We look forward to providing even more vital green spaces in Central Brooklyn in partnership with Governor Cuomo’s ‘Vital Brooklyn’ initiative.”

The new student-designed community playground includes green infrastructure design elements, made possible in part through a partnership with DEP, and which are a hallmark of The Trust for Public Land’s playground work. These features reduce stormwater runoff that can flood streets and overwhelm sewer systems, allowing untreated water to end up in rivers and bays. Green infrastructure elements include turf fields designed to absorb stormwater, trees, and pervious pavers, which can capture up to an inch of rainwater during storms.

“We’re proud to partner with the Trust for Public Land and Governor Cuomo’s “Vital Brooklyn” initiative to help young students’ creative park designs become a reality,” said Brett Yormark, Chief Executive Officer of BSE Global, which manages and controls the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. “It has always been a priority of ours to positively impact our surrounding community, and we hope this playground will motivate local residents to stay active, and provide a safe place for them to have fun.”

The M.S. 354 & KIPP AMP Academy Middle and Elementary Schools playground was built through The Trust for Public Land’s NYC Playgrounds Program. Since 1996, working with the City, The Trust for Public Land’s NYC Playgrounds Program has designed and built more than 200 school and community playgrounds across the five boroughs.

The Trust for Public Land involves students in playground design to teach valuable lessons and life skills such as budgeting, negotiation, and environmental science. In addition to serving students, all playgrounds in New York City are open to the public on weekends, after school, and during school breaks, providing opportunities for both children and adults to be physically active. The program has added more than 160 acres of additional playground space serving the nearly 4 million people who live within a 10-minute walk of one of the sites.

The new playground was made possible through a partnership with New York State Parks, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Education, the School Construction Authority, the Brooklyn Nets, and Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center donated a portion of proceeds raised from their annual Barclays Center Cares gala to help support this project and will send employees to paint a mural at the playground for their annual “Give Back” community outreach day on June 13.

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About New York City DEP

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City. The water is delivered from a watershed that extends more than 125 miles from the city, comprising 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes. Approximately 7,000 miles of water mains, tunnels and aqueducts bring water to homes and businesses throughout the five boroughs, and 7,500 miles of sewer lines and 96 pump stations take wastewater to 14 in-city treatment plants. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 in the upstate watershed. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program, with a planned $19.7 billion in investments over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. To support The Trust for Public Land and share why nature matters to you, visit www.tpl.org.