Garden Avenue getting a playground
Jun. 15—Falls Public Works Department crews have already begun to clear the site and Mayor Robert Restaino said Monday morning that kids in the city will be getting a new playground on Garden Avenue.
Restaino's announcement came at a time when community activists and school children have been pleading at City Council meetings for more playgrounds and improvements to city parks as a post-pandemic summer looms and violence has flared on Cataract City streets.
The mayor said the installation a new playground, at 1031 Garden Ave., had "been promised to the community but was not completed." He said the new play space targeted for children had been "highly anticipated by the neighboring community and residents."
"This has been an area of concern for residents for some time," Restaino said. "We're pleased to be able to move this project forward, revitalizing an area that has not been used to its greatest potential, and providing a safe space for children to play in this section of the Niagara Falls community.
"This was a promise I made to the community and I'm glad to be able to make good on it now."
The announcement comes on the heels of a concerted effort by children and activists to compel the city to add more recreational equipment to city parks. At the council's most recent meeting, Daisy McClain, a first-grader at Maple Avenue Elementary School told members of the city council they weren't meeting the needs of children.
"I'm here to tell you about how my mom takes us to the park and we can't play there," McClain said. "There are too many kids and not enough swings."
McClain also told the council that city parks, in general, lack sufficient equipment for pre-teens and younger children. She asked the council, pointedly, to build more parks with playgrounds.
When McClain finished, the chambers erupted in applause. Community activist Gloria Dolson praised McClain for her speech.
Dolson and a number of other activists have been appearing regularly before the council to address what they see as a desperate need for improvements at city parks. At the last council meeting, Dolson, surrounded by children holding signs that read, "Stop the Violence," took aim at the troubles that have begun to plague Gluck Park in the city's North End.
"(Gluck Park) is used for gambling, sex, foul language and it's even taken the life of one young man," Dolson said. "Children should not have to beg for (a safe place to play). Children deserve to be heard and to enjoy life."
Residents who live near the park have decried the lack of recreational equipment there and have even criticized the colors used on the few amenities that are there. They've said the dark, foreboding shades of red and blue (traditional gang colors) should be replaced with bright pastels.
Dolson also told the council that the basketball court at the park, which typically attracts older teens and young men, should be taken out so that children will feel safer.
As the mayor concluded his Monday announcement, public works finished clearing overgrown trees and bushes at the site and began the process of pavement removal. City officials said they anticipate that this playground will be completed and opened before the end of summer.
