 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
“Starchitect” Gets Battery Park Playground Advice from Parents
Gehry announced early this summer that he would donate a design for the one-acre “Battery Playspace,” planned for completion in 2009. It will replace a long-neglected playground in the southeast corner of the park, across from Peter Minuit Plaza. (The project is part of a grand revitalization plan for the park, to include a bike path, a “town green,” an “aquatic” carousel lit by fiber optics, and the eventual restoration of Castle Clinton.) But despite having a “starchitect” as the playground’s designer, Battery Conservancy founder and president Warrie Price said, he is not being left entirely to his own devices. “We don’t just want an architect going off on his own,” said Price, whose organization is largely responsible for revitalizing the Battery. “This is really a collaborative effort, where the community will have a lot of input.” Early this month the Conservancy convened the first meeting of the Family Advisory Group, an informal collection of local playground experts, i.e. parents. The group will meet repeatedly throughout the design process, and the Conservancy will convey the group’s ideas to Gehry. About a dozen adults gathered around tables at the Conservancy offices on Oct. 2 to eat cookies, drink apple cider and talk about play. (Also in attendance were several perhaps more qualified advisors: a vocal baby, a 3-year-old and an 11-year-old.)
And then she opened the floor to a flood of ideas, which ranged from the strictly practical to something out of Willy Wonka. Craig Hall, Battery Park City resident and father of three, led the way with a comment that was to become a theme. “My kids love playing with water,” he said. “And the water’s got to move. They’ll float anything in there. They’ll take their shoes off and float them.” All around the table, heads bobbed in agreement. “What about a balloon-filling station?” asked another parent. “There’s a playground in Paris that has a little cement creek running through it, and it’s an absolute magnet,” said Mark Shulman. Nearly everyone also spoke up in support of high-climbing equipment. “I guess somebody decided that only this high is safe for kids,” said Diane Miller, gesturing about five feet off the ground, “but my son climbs 25-foot rock climbing walls.” Other proposals included swings and devices for kids to hang from, electricity-generating windmills and treadmills, giant Lego furniture and artificial mountains with nooks. Some of the ideas were more geared toward adults than kids. “What about a soap and water station?” asked Lydia Sussek. “It’s shocking that there’s no segmented garbage,” said another mom. Nearly all of the parents said they wanted a vantage point from which they could see the whole site, as well as only one entrance in and out. The group fantasized about the playground of their dreams for nearly an hour, but only one participant thought to bring visual aids. Near the end of the meeting, Olivia Goodkind, 11, produced a photograph of the Statue of Liberty that she had altered on a computer. The complex folds of Lady Liberty’s robes had been converted to an elaborate slide. Parents interested in getting involved in planning for the playground should write to Emily Cole-Kelly at ecolekelly@thebattery.org or call (212) 344-3491, ext. 2.
[Home][Back][Search] [Advertise][Contact] The Tribeca Trib · 401 Broadway, 5th Floor · New York, NY · 10013 · 212.219.9709 |
