Middle Village just got a new swamp.
On Sunday, a few dozen preschoolers from The Learning Tree School came to Juniper Valley Park where they helped local politicians cut a ribbon celebrating the swamp’s opening.
The swamp is, in fact, a playground, designed with swamp-themed equipment like giant metal reeds and a dragonfly perched on a misting shower. The ground, too, follows the swamp theme—designed with permeable concrete to let water sit underneath and filter into the ground to make the area more environmentally friendly.
“Can anybody see the giant dragonfly?” Commissioner of the Department of Parks & Recreation, Adrian Benepe, asked the preschoolers. “That size of dragonfly hasn’t been here since the prehistoric days when dinosaurs roamed Juniper Valley. Water will come out of that in the summer time when it’s hot.”
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall funded the playground by allocating $750,000 for the construction. The opening marks the completion of the second, and final, phase of playground improvements along the edge of the park at Juniper Boulevard South at 75th Street.
The first phase of the playground was built for toddlers and opened last year about 20 feet away. That construction was funded by another $750,000 from Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and supplemental allocation of funding from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
A Parks Department release said the design aesthetic for the playground originated from the park’s history. The area was a swamp until 1915 when it was filled in and became Juniper Valley Park.
Benepe said $2.3 million has gone toward improvements at Juniper Valley Park in the past two years. The next project will be roofed bocce ball courts under constructed next fall.
“We’re very lucky to have elected officials who care about parks,” he said.
By Jeremiah Dobruck
