Stop By If You’re Nearby! This neighborhood spot, also known as Horatio Playground, has the basics for a pit-stop or some after-school fun for the young elementary school crowd in the West Village.
The Lower Manhattan playground’s main feature is one multi-dimensional play structure that is set apart from others nearby with its unique rope-net climbers that stay close to the ground. One rope climb is a pyramid, the other is a wide horizontal stretch that requires all fours to make it across successfully. It is difficult for parents to get inside to help with these rope-climbs, so kids need to take the risk on their own. But overall, this play structure with connecting ramps and platforms stay fairly low throughout, so parents can stay close at hand. There are slides at two heights, each with a fire pole to match. The one set of monkey bars may require a boost to grab on to for the younger adventurers.
A few other features are also in this playground. In a separate gated area – but directly facing the play structure– there are swings: four big-kid, three baby, and one universal access. Another structure, which makes us smile? A small, good-old-fashioned metal geodesic dome where my little kids learned how to hang upside down from their knees. In addition, there is a small water spray area on concrete that shoots up water vertically into the air.
What’s More? The playground takes up a corner of a one-acre recreational space. There is a vast asphalt lot with a baseball field and basketball half-courts, which for younger kids is a safe place for scooting, skateboarding, or learning to ride a bike. There is also a basketball court on site.
The sixty-year-old playground was developed when local residents saw a need for play space in a growing residential neighborhood. Its namesake was a local resident who died in 1967 at the age of twenty-one serving in the Vietnam War. The playground was last renovated in 1992, while more recently there has been interest and debate over the best recreational uses for the space.
NYC Parks hosts events at this playground, such as summertime outdoor movies and drop-in fitness classes. More information about its history and the events at the playground can be found HERE.
Safety/Visibility: There is a soft surface directly under the play equipment, and the structures do not show the need for repair. There is also a lot of concrete, pavers, and a steep mound within the play area, which we’ve seen lead to falls. The playground is compact, and the two exit gates (to the street and to the asphalt field) are in close proximity.
Bathroom Emergency? The onsite bathrooms are undergoing renovation, with a scheduled reopening of spring 2019. We’ve purchased a drink at the friendly Hudson Café nearby in order to use their private bathroom in the basement.
Snack Time/Coffee Break? There are two picnic tables and many benches surrounding the play area. The restaurant directly across the street to the west, High St. on Hudson, is not necessarily kid-friendly but luckily offers takeout coffee and freshly baked breads and pastries. Hudson Café (half-block south) is a low-key spot for sandwiches, salads, and smoothies. We like to carry over some slices from Village Pizza, a five-minute walk away on 8th Ave. For a treat, we walk a couple of blocks west to Ample Hills Creamery on Gansevoort St. for innovative ice cream, such as the site-specific “Floatin’ Over the High Line,” a root beer ice cream with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles.
Features: Baby swings, big-kid swings, universal access swing, slides, monkey bars, special climbing features, water sprays, nearby snacks.
Gianna Abruzzo is a Brooklyn-born adventurer with nearly ten years of experience exploring playgrounds – in Lower Manhattan, around NYC, and in eleven more countries – with her three daughters. Gianna seeks to share a sense of community and pride in the places we play. Follow her on Instagram
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