When the Tenant Association at Smith Houses’ received only $384,958 of FEMA funding to repair two of its campus playgrounds after Superstorm Sandy, they didn’t back down from their dream of an updated, multigenerational playspace for their community. Instead, they organized. Strong resident voices led the way in coordinating city and state agencies. By raising an additional $500K from NYS and reclaiming historical amenity space from NYCHA sanitation, an ambitious adventure in bringing together two separate contractors funded by two different government agencies—all under the direction of one landscape architect—resulted in a larger, brighter, natural playspace that ushers in a new generation of NYCHA playgrounds, free from the ubiquitous metal structures and black matting of the past.
Smith Houses Playground demonstrates what is possible when residents are at the center of design. Community-inspired through a participatory process, this inter-generational play space meets the needs of a wider range of ages and interests. Smith inspires play through its balance of natural materials and bold colors. Bright, central platforms and spinning play features encourage story-telling, problem-solving, and creative movement into adolescents. Families socialize and friends are made thanks to the fresh energy from this unique space, which was once just another of the ubiquitous metal play structures atop dark, black matting that is a mainstay across all NYCHA developments.
This dream became a reality through the power of a grassroots movement spearheaded by the Smith Houses’ Tenant Association. Knowing their FEMA money would spread thin across the two playgrounds it was designated for resulting in minimal repairs and more of the same, they decided to consolidate their $385k to completely renovate one playground—and to not take no for an answer. But even this was only enough to get started. Thanks to public meetings local politicians started to pay attention, and soon more funding became available from a local state assembly member.
Under one landscape architecture firm, historic amenity space was reclaimed from NYCHA sanitation, and one playspace was built as two separate projects, Phase 1, funded by NYCHA’s Sandy Recovery Unit, and Phase 2, funded by Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY). Each project had its own contractor and construction management team, but when they were finished, it was impossible to tell.
The combined efforts of NYCHA residents, State and City authorities, local stakeholders, and one landscape architecture firm resulted in seamless execution and the accomplishment of a triumphant goal. Smith Houses’ Playground is more than a beautiful place for families to gather. It is a roadmap for the future of design.
Publicly accessible project: 186 South St, New York, NY 10038
Design year: 2018
Year Completed: 2021
