Seesaws! (Some Assembly Required): Classic Playground

A real metal jungle gym, old school.

I got genuinely excited about this one. Seesaws are an endangered species in New York City playgrounds, and here was a whole collection of them, plus an honest-to-goodness metal jungle gym, the kind that taught my generation about gravity. It sits right on the Hudson River Greenway near 74th Street, which ought to mean river views and a nice breeze.

One of the surviving seesaws.

Unfortunately, this playground seems to have been abandoned by the Parks Department. The view of the water is blocked by maintenance equipment. Weeds grow everywhere. Paint is flaking off in large chunks. About half the seesaws are missing entirely.

The big splash pad in the middle wasn't working, looked nasty, and had a garbage can parked across the entrance, which is about as clear a message as a playground can send.

The big splash pad, out of order.

One bright spot: the sycamore trees overhead shed their bark all over the ground, and stomping on it turned out to be a genuinely fun game of its own. Kids will find the fun anywhere, bless them.

Verdict: great concept, awful playground. The city should either give this place a little TLC to make it amazing again, or close it and move that classic equipment to parks where it'll get used and cared for. Until then, best avoided.