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CARRION GOES OUT2PLAY — OPENS TWO NEW SCHOOL YARD PLAYGROUNDS BRONX, NY- Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion in conjunction Out2Play, a nonprofit group dedicated to building playgrounds at New York City public schools, officially opened two new school playgrounds at P.S. 55 and P.S. 156 in the South Bronx. Carrion funded both projects as well as two others that will be completed in the coming weeks. These are the first 4 of 14 playgrounds that Carrion and Out2Play are building this and summer. Carrion provided approximately 600,000 Dollars to fix these four schools. “These two playgrounds will give our children a safe and secure place to play,” stated Carrion. P.S. 156, located at a750 Concourse Village West, serves 750 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th. Its new playground features a fully-ramped, wheelchair-accessible play structure, tricycle track, kickball diamond, soccer, handball and blacktop games. P.S. 55, located at 450 Saint Paul’s Place, serves 670 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th and houses a middle school with 250 students. Its new playground has a full court basketball court, a track, kickball diamond, handball, jungle gym equipment and blacktop games. Out2Play manages every step of the playground construction process. Working with an architect, Out2Play convenes a committee at each designated school to design the playground. Once the plan is developed and approved by the playground committee and local school officials, it is approved by the New York City Construction Authority and put out to bid. Out2Play hires contractors to do the construction. When the project is completed, volunteers put the finishing touches on the new playground. Out2Play partners with the Injury-Free Coalition for Kids from Columbia Presbyterian Hospita to provide training on playground safety for school staff and parents. Asphalt Green provides a modified form of its Recess Enhancement Program, which teaches school staff and students recess activities that encourage participation and promote movement and physical activity By the end of the summer, Out2Play will have completed 14 playground projects. Currently, Out2Play is raising funds to build 20 projects in 2008. The group estimates that more than 250 public elementary schools in the five boroughs need new playgrounds. The approximate cost of a playground is $250,000. “Working together we have proven that we can protect the health and fitness of our children, which is imperative if we are going to prepare them to be the future leaders of this great city,” stated Carrion. # # # |
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Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451 |
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