Saratoga Park Playground Reopens After Almost a Year and a $2 Million Upgrade

Good news for Bed Stuy families looking for a place to play: Saratoga Park playground has reopened after being closed for almost a year for renovations.

The large fence that had surrounded the playground while it was getting upgraded came down this week, and already warmly wrapped children and their supervisors are making the most of the new equipment.

The $2.18 million upgrade includes cushioned green mats placed under the three separate play areas: a large playground area for bigger children, an expanded space for smaller children, and a swing set for toddlers.

The play areas include new slides, climbing equipment, and bridges. Both have been expanded beyond their original footprint. There appear to be two new spray showers between the two play areas, but the much loved sprinkler seal is no longer in residence.

Benches are scattered through the revamped space, providing caregivers a place to rest their legs, and the playground is surrounded by a fence, blocking it from the rest of the park, which has off-leash dog hours between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

New asphalt has been installed in and around the playground, located at 112 Howard Avenue, but it doesn’t appear any new grass has been laid as was touted as part of the original plan.

Located between Halsey and Macon streets and Saratoga and Howard avenues, Saratoga Park opened in the 1890s when the neighborhood was known as the Eastern District. The Saratoga War Memorial in the park commemorating locals who died in World War I was restored in 2014.

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