Just in time for Labor Day Weekend, NYC Parks Bronx Borough Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa today joined New York City Council Member Andrew Cohen, New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz, and Bronx Community Board 8 Parks Chair Rosemary Ginty to cut the ribbon on the new upgrades to Spuyten Duyvil Playground in the Bronx.
“Despite the pandemic, we are so excited to have been able to complete this upgrade to the Spuyten Duyvil spray shower,” said Borough Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. “Thanks to an investment from Council Member Cohen and the DASNY, the Spuyten Duyvil community will be able to relax and cool off at the new, beautifully redesigned spray showers for many years to come.”
The project replaced the playground’s existing spray showers with new, accessible spray features and structures for all age groups. Additional playground upgrades include new pavement, new ground jets and aboveground water sprays, and updated plumbing and infrastructure. New native plantings with protective fences have also been added to enhance and improve the greenery at the site.
The $1.2 million project was funded by a $600,000 allocation from Council Member Cohen, and a $600,000 grant from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York.
Spuyten Duyvil Playground has the same name as the adjacent public school, the nearby creek, and a neighborhood in the northwestern Bronx. The Spuyten Duyvil School (P.S. 24) welcomed its first pupils in 1953, and the P.S. 24 playground opened to the public two years later. New York City’s 641st playground was later named for Spuyten Duyvil.