The NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, joined by City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo, Prospect Park Alliance's President Sue Donoghue and local community members celebrated the reopening of the Elijah G. Stroud Playground in Prospect Heights / Crown Heights.
The Stroud Playground underwent a $5 million reconstruction that was designed in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance.
"As a mother, mentor, guardian and Brooklynite, I firmly understand the value of recreation, and how it fosters a positive impact on future generations," said Cumbo. "The many amenities associated with Stroud Playground will serve as a prominent example of what can happen when communities come together around positive causes."
The newly revamped playground now features a spray shower, a synthetic turf area, basketball and handball courts, a walking track and fitness equipment, lower fences and improved lighting, drinking fountains, plantings and landscaping. The comfort station is still under reconstruction and expected to reopen later this year.
"Prospect Park Alliance has an award-winning team of landscape architects and designers, and were pleased to be able to share our expertise to help create this playground in our community," said Sue Donoghue, president of Prospect Park Alliance. "Stroud Playground features many of the amenities desired by the community and also improves the environment by adding more trees and absorbing stormwater runoff. We hope it will serve as a model for future New York City playgrounds."
The playground, which the city purchased in 1964, and an adjacent school were named to commemorate Elijah G. Stroud, a New York Police Officer who patrolled the area around P.S. 9 elementary school in Prospect Heights and volunteered with local schools. Officer Stroud was killed in 1972 after interrupting a robbery in progress; he was survived by his wife and three children.
