Volunteers Build Playground and Garden in East Harlem
MANHATTAN — More than 200 volunteers will gather in East Harlem next Thursday to erect a playground and garden that will also feature a basketball court and movie screen by the time it’s done this summer.
The volunteer event next Thursday is part of a larger effort by the New York Restoration Project to revamp the 103rd Street Community Garden, located between Park and Lexington Avenues.
Next week’s building effort will be led by KaBOOM!, the park building non-profit that created Imagination Playground in the Meatpacking District and was featured on an episode of “Parks and Recreation” last season.
Plans for the new playground were based on drawings by a group of neighborhood kids who attended a Design Day event last March, according to the statement. The design was also inspired by Disney, which will sponsor the construction site, according to the statement.
The greenspace will be completed this summer and will eventually also include a basketball court, a portable movie screen for outdoor shows and a picnic area.
Community members over 16 years of age can still sign up to participate from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 19.
Food, drink and music will be provided.
By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer