Council Member Costa Constantinides announced a $4.6 million renovation to Gorman Playground
Sept. 19, 2019 By Allie Griffin
A beloved East Elmhurst playground will be getting some major upgrades thanks to $4.6 million in funding from the city council — and the public will get to weigh in on what those upgrades will be.
The Parks Department will host a scoping hearing on the evening of Oct. 3 at the Lexington School for the Deaf to collect community feedback on what improvements residents would like to see.
Council Member Costa Constantinides and Speaker Corey Johnson together secured the funding for Gorman Playground under the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget. Constantinides announced the funding with Parks Department officials yesterday at the playground.
Gorman Playground — which stretches from 25th Avenue to 30th Avenue, north to south, and from 84th Street to 85th Street — was named after Denis P. Gorman in August 1963 shortly after his passing. Gorman was a dedicated civic leader who ran the Elmjack Little League for a decade, brought franchised bus service to Jackson Heights, and was active in several local organizations.
Denis Gorman, grandson of the park’s namesake, joined Constantinides for the announcement yesterday.
“Gorman Playground, like so many parks in our district, is a lynchpin of the Jackson Heights community,” Constantinides said. “I want to thank Speaker Corey Johnson for his vision, partnership, and support to renovate the play area, so our children have a constructive place to grow and learn.”
Featured Events
3 Comments
C’mon people, everyone who lived there in the 60s and 70s knows that the REAL name for that park was Itchycoo Park. It was grafittied right there on the sidewalk, so it had to be true. Those were the good old days when the monkey bars went about 15 feet high and the floor under them was just solid asphalt. And you had see-saws so you could send somebody up to the top and then jump off to crash-land them.
Snowflakes and helicopter parents ruined all the fun.
Wheres the flyer and outreach?! date time location? this is great news
Well it’s about time! Constantinides has championed for multiple improvements in the Astoria neighborhood neglecting the East Elmhurst community for too long.