How a paved-over playground at Firemen's Memorial Field set off an online backlash

A small, modest playground tucked to the right of the Firemen’s Memorial Field parking lot on Albermarle Avenue has been torn down, paved over, and turned into extra parking space. 

The village-owned playground was little more than a plain, mint-green jungle gym in the center of a fenced pocket of land. It has for years provided a dependable — though some would say unremarkable — playground experience for children.

Yet, as nondescript as the playground might have been, residents are in uproar over its loss. Their criticism has been shared post after post across several community groups on social media.

“The village should be paving over streets, not playgrounds,” wrote Harry Carney.

“There is no sign about what’s going on,” wrote Ulla Kja. “Really not fun to have so little communication over something so important and sentimental to families. If you are paving over a playground, have a plan and communicate about it.”

Mayor Edwin Fare was taken aback at the dismay.

“The playground has been closed for almost a year, and no one from the community made any inquiries during that time,” he said in a statement.

Fare said the playground was off-limits to the public while work was done to bring it up to federal accessibility standards according to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The village has improved and made all other playgrounds ADA-compliant, and it was time for upgrades at Firemen’s Memorial Field, but that meant the old playground could not stay during the planning and construction of a new one,” said Fare with some residents reportedly flouting village rules by using the park anyway.

The mayor tries to set the record straight

However, while the old playground was erased, a new one will not rise from its rubble in the same spot.

Fare argued the village ultimately decided to pivot toward building a new playground in a choice location in the park. The decision, he contends, makes sense when measured against the fact that there were more drawbacks than benefits to keeping the playground in its current location.

“The location of the old playground was poor, at best,” said Fare, its location made poor by its proximity to carbon monoxide fumes from passing vehicles and vehicle accidents and becoming an unwitting place for what neighbors have complained as “illegal activities like drinking and smoking.”

The demolition of the play space would also free up room for additional parking which the mayor said is already at a premium “with the addition of many new and innovative programs, sports, fitness activities, clubs, meetings, and even voting at the clubhouse.”

Knowing that the playground will eventually be replaced hasn’t fully quelled the public swell of negative emotion.

“’Eventually’ is the operative word,” wrote Cathy Thompson Hicks on Facebook.

“Rarely have Valley Streamers been as united as on the issue of the torn down playground! The most common remark is: ‘I can’t believe they took it down,’” wrote Bill Freda.

“The playground was so convenient for young siblings to hang out at when older siblings were playing in the baseball league. Who made this decision?”

New playground promised...but when?

Fare stressed that a methodical planning phase for a new play area is underway but would not be nailed down to a hard deadline for completion.

“There is no current timeline, as we seek to design, layout, and funding initiatives that comply with state and federal guidelines,” he said. “Like all of the other playground improvements, we will seek a variety of funding, and try to maximize usage, safety, and fun for our children. Again, look to the successes of the other playgrounds that we already improved.”

Fare also took issue with vocal community pushback allegedly aired at the eleventh hour of these changes.

“Not sure why there wasn’t an outcry that we didn’t look to improve the Firemen’s Field playground sooner,” he said.

However, residents clapped back saying no communication from the village suggested at the time that they would scrap their original plan to renovate the playground and instead remove it entirely without taking imminent steps to replace it.

Media reports also show that as far back as 2014, residents like Elizabeth Stevens called on the village to expand and enlarge the old playground’s recreational accessories. 

“(My kids) get bored fast because there isn’t much there… it would be great if they added a few more things for the kids,” she said.

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.