The Union Square Playground is a new NYC must for kids of all ages
Yes, it's excellent that Waterside has a first-rate playground right here on the plaza. No question, we love it, both for what it is--clean, safe, and totally fun--and for where it is, also known as "right downstairs." BUT, that said, have you seen the amazing new playground in nearby Union Square?! A year and a half in the making, 15,000 square feet in the space-taking, nearly $4 million in the spending, the completely redesigned/rebuilt Union Square Playground opened its iron gates just a couple of weeks ago, but is already a massive hit--especially with the harder-to-please mid- to late-grade-school set--and is even being hailed by playground pros to be the best in all of New York City.
We love so much about this place--the first half hour there was pretty much spent just walking around grinning like idiots while the kids went nuts--but here's a few things that we thought were particularly cool.
Kids couldn't get enough of this simple climbing/sliding silver dome, scampering to the top (if they were good), enjoying the triumph and the view for a minute, then sliding the steeps back down. Again and again and again.
There are several actual, complete trees right in the playground proper, which may seem like not a big deal, but they really break up the space well, and add a sense of adventure, of hide-and-seek, to all the running around.
The aptly-named Spirallo and the helix-looking Pulsar are nothing like the jungle gyms we had/fell from as kids. Totally jealous. On a related note, the lively checkerboard flooring (in great non-cliche colors!) is all made from SofSurfaces rubber tiling.
Wonka-looking talk tubes! Send your child off to find the companion color, and have a whispered conversation all the way across the park.
Much of the equipment in the main section of the playground is definitely for the older kids, but there's also a whole well-designed toddler area, too, with the big three for the younger crowd: sand, slides, and swings. The Union Square Greenmarket is right there four days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday), so excellent, healthy snacks and treats are easy to get everyone's hands on. And when the weather gets hotter, the pavilion turns into a cooler, with misters and sprinklers. The Union Square Playground is located at the northern end of Union Square Park, close to 17th Street between Broadway and Park Avenue South.
Posted at 10:00PM Mar 31, 2010 by Scott in 10010 |