The city said “No” to Argyle Road residents who want a recently refurbished playground behind PS 139 closed on Sundays.
The park — renovated through the city’s Schoolyards to Playgrounds initiative, which seeks to open playgrounds in areas under-served by them — had become a point of contention after the city extended its hours and installed basketball hoops — prompting some neighbors to complain about excessive noise penetrating their homes for what seemed like eight days a week.
“The playground is shaped like an amphitheater so the sound just blasts through your house,” said George Kowallis, who lives across the street. “I can’t read a newspaper. I can’t hear the news.”
Seeking solace, members of the Beverley Square West Neighborhood Association asked to close the urban oasis on Sundays, but the Department of Education, which controls the park, said it’s not going to happen. The decision, which came in a letter from the city responding to the group’s request, was announced Monday night.
Upon hearing of the city’s answer, neighbor Vera Gordon backed off her demand that the park be closed on Sunday — but promised to make sure things don’t get out of hand inside the park.
“We’re stuck with it, so we will live with it, and we will monitor it,” she said. “Any Sunday that it’s obstreperously noisy, there’s always 911.”
Some would be happy to learn the playground will stay open.
“It’s a great open space for the neighborhood,” said Argyle Road resident Ellen Wong, who noted that Flatbush has a dearth of public play spaces. “It’s really necessary for it to remain open.”
Plus, the benefits outweigh the liabilities, added Sally Bowman, whose children frequently play there.
“I understand the concerns of the people who live nearby,” she said. “If there are 100 wonderful, positive incidents for every bad one, it doesn’t make sense to shut the playground.”
The controversy over how often the park should be open erupted after a Beverley Square meeting last month when a majority voted to send the letter to the city seeking the closure, as some not at the meeting felt the note should never have been sent.
“The letter represented the majority vote at one meeting, but didn’t represent majority sentiment,” said Jan Rosenberg. “The consensus, from what I see, is that the schoolyard should be open seven days.”
But Jack Lester, an attorney representing some residents who is currently drawing up a lawsuit to close the park, said there were quality-of-life issues involved that need to be addressed.
“There’s always been a schoolyard, but it didn’t have hours of opening like now, it didn’t always have basketball hoops,” Lester said. “There’s not proper supervision, there aren’t proper fences, and they don’t close the gates. Late nights and early mornings should be respected.”
That decision to stay open still leaves some residents at odds with a park designed to keep big kids away — the basketball hoops are shorter than regulation to discourage older players.
“It would be much more tolerable if there were no basketball hoops,” Kowallis said, adding that, despite an official closing time of dusk, he can sometimes hear the bounce of a basketball in the wee hours.
On that point, everyone seemed to be in agreement.
“The gates should be locked at dusk every night,” said Glenn Wolin, a member of the association’s board who supports the playground being open. “We need to make it more difficult for kids to get in when it’s closed.”
