Hundreds of people, including residents, JetBlue volunteers, KaBOOM organizers and Councilman Eric Ulrich, gathered at the Broad Channel Athletic Club on Saturday to build a playground that was designed in part by neighborhood children. Photo Courtesy KaBOOM
For the hundreds of children living in Broad Channel, the playground that was built in their neighborhood last weekend is more than monkey bars and slides – it’s a reminder that life is, slowly but surely, piecing itself into a semblance of normalcy after Hurricane Sandy.
Close to 300 people, including residents, volunteers from JetBlue and organizers from the national nonprofit KaBOOM, gathered in Broad Channel last Saturday to build a playground that was in part designed by area children. The new site – which includes everything from a rock climbing wall to a small tunnel – is located at the Broad Channel Athletic Club at 125 Cross Bay Boulevard in Rockaway and was born from a partnership between JetBlue and KaBOOM. After Hurricane Sandy, the two organizations have reached out to communities up and down the eastern seaboard to find areas to build playgrounds for children whose lives were turned upside down by the storm.
“It’s an outlet to get away from everything that the last 10 months have brought us,” said Kim Tritschler, the public relations team leader for the playground build and the corresponding secretary for the Broad Channel Athletic Club. “We still have families who aren’t in their homes. This playground is a way to start new memories.”
The BCAC serves more than 900 children annually – 95 percent of whom lost their homes in Sandy. The club, which has offered a variety of sports for area children since the 1960s, lost virtually everything in the disaster – and Tritschler said the playground provides a place that is not only needed after the storm but which residents have wanted for years.
“We have so many children in the area – it’s amazing,” she said. “We truly are a neighborhood of families and children. To now have this means another area for them to get out and play and be with friends.”
Saturday’s event was so well attended that Mike Vietti, communications manager for KaBOOM, said the playground was built faster than projects like it typically take.
“The overall support from the community, from JetBlue and from the Broad Channel Athletic Club was so phenomenal,” Vietti said of the event that was also attended by Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park). “Builds typically take six to seven hours, and people worked so hard and were so enthused that we finished half an hour early. It was a community event that people will be proud of for years to come.”
JetBlue officials too said they were thrilled with the build.
“Dozens of communities in New York and New Jersey, like Broad Channel, are still struggling to rebuild essential infrastructure such as hospital, schools and roads – and playgrounds and play spaces are not being factored into budgets,” said Icema Gibbs, director of corporate social responsibility for JetBlue. “Follwing natural disasters, play becomes even more critical as it creates a sense of normalcy and provides an emotional outlet for kids.”
The Broad Channel project marks the second playground KaBOOM and JetBlue have built in areas impacted by the hurricane, and Vietti said they are currently looking for a third site. If individuals know of an area that could benefit from such a site, Vietti said to submit information through kaboom.org.
By Anna Gustafson
