Home is where the slide is.
The planned overhaul of the long-padlocked Saint Mary’s Park in Carroll Gardens will thin crowds at Carroll Park, which has been overrun in recent years, according to the administrator of the neighborhood’s community board.
“Carroll Park has been in the unfortunate position of having to be all things to all people,” said Craig Hammerman, district manager of Community Board 6. “This redesign will certainly allow for those currently using Carroll Park to have more options, which is a plus for both spaces.”
Saint Mary’s Park, currently consisting of just a playground, sits on Smith Street between Luquer and Huntington streets, under the elevated F and G tracks. It has been closed since 2009 due to construction work at the Smith-Ninth station. Now, with $1.35 million committed by the subway contractor and Councilman Brad Lander (D–Carroll Gardens) the city is beginning to redesign the park.
The contractor money comes as part of a deal the parks department struck to allow the company to store trucks and materials in the park in exchange for $850,000 to renovate the playground.
When work on the Culver Viaduct tracks dragged on, and the original contractor walked off the job months before the August, 2013 reopening, locals wanted the city to demand more contractor money, but it didn’t, Hammerman said.
“We were a little upset that the parks department didn’t renegotiate,” he said.
Lander pitched in another $500,000 for the project, which is in the early planning stages.
The park woes were compounded by the year-long closure underway at Red Hook’s Coffey Park. The closures sent fun-seekers packing into Carroll Park, and it took a beating as a result, Hammerman said.
“Our district does have a shortage of open spaces available, as evidenced by how over-utilized Carroll Park is,” he said. “It is extremely popular, and as a result of that there is a lot of increased wear and tear.”
The parks department does not have a date set for when it will reopen Saint Mary’s Park, but Hammerman said it should present design proposals in the spring.
