Let the Play Begin in Greenacres

It’s official! Work has been completed on the new playground at Greenacres Elementary School. On the evening of Monday, September 9th a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to mark the event, with representatives from the Village Board, the School Board, Scarsdale’s Superintendent of Schools, Recreation Department, Greenacres Neighborhood Association and NYS Assemblymember, Amy Paulin. It was also well attended by running, laughing, swinging, jumping, climbing toddlers, children and parents, all enjoying the shiny new jungle gyms and swing set installed in the last month.

The former playground had been in need of repair for years, with out of date and broken equipment. The baby swings were taken down years ago after they were determined to be unsafe and replacements for the obsolete equipment could not be purchased.

The playground sits on a small piece of Village-owned land that is adjacent to a school-owned playground, so it was up to the Village to fund the new equipment.

The project was budgeted and delayed for years. After costs rose it became a very expensive proposition to fund it. Greenacres Neighborhood Association President Kristen Cipriano recognized the need and took the project on. She researched available set-ups with playground equipment manufacturers and approached the Village with possible options.

With many different players, the project came together with the School District and the Village Board of Trustees reaching out to Scarsdale’s Assemblymember Amy Paulin. School Board President Suzie Hahn said “The schools and village have worked collaboratively on many projects. I’m grateful we have such a great partnership with the village.” Alexandra Marshall, Acting Village Manager remarked, "the village is filled with gratitude to Amy Paulin's office for their important role in getting this project done.” Ms. Paulin was also delighted to comment on the success of this project. “I am thrilled to see the new Greenacres Playground come to life and am so happy to have been able to secure funding for it from New York State,” said Paulin, who secured $250,000 for the Village of Scarsdale to pay for the playground. “This playground is a testament to Scarsdale being a village that embraces the health and spirit of its parks and its children! I look forward to bringing my granddaughter here to play and seeing the smiles of children as they enjoy this beautiful park in this amazing neighborhood. Thank you to the Village of Scarsdale, the dedicated volunteers of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association and the Scarsdale School district for your collaboration, all which have brought us to this wonderful day.”

The new playground is designed with equipment for both preschoolers (2-5 year olds) as well as elementary (5-12 year old) aged children. This well-equipped playground park with all the bells and whistles, now accommodates a much larger age group from 2-12 years old, making it inviting to so many more playground goers.

Many of the children and their parents were curious and watched in awe as Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest cut the shiny blue ribbon with very large scissors. Little ones, unfazed by the group of adults, continued happily playing while the ceremony went on. Let the playing begin!

Pictured at top: Left to Right: Brian Gray, Alex Marshall, Kristen Zakierski, Bob Klein, Drew Patrick, Justin Arest, Jeremy Gans, Amy Paulin, Ken Mazer, Ron Schulhof, Karen Brew, Leah Dembitzer, Suzie Hahn, Jeremy Wise