New Eden Park playground a collaborative effort
Starting in September there will be a new playground in town, thanks to the collaborative efforts of many and made possible by a RI Foundation Community Grant.
When it was determined that Eden Park Elementary School was the only elementary school in the city that still did not have a playground, it was proposed by Ward 2 City Councilman Paul McAuley that one be added.
“The children were previously crossing an open area to play,” said Lisa Kirshenbaum, grant-writer for the city council. “When Paul brought this to us, we brought it to administration, and Mayor Fung and his administration got behind it right away, as it was the right thing to do,” said Council President/Citywide, Michael Farina, who then contacted Kirshenbaum to see if there was a grant available that might fund the project.
“This was a perfect project for a grant from the RI Foundation,” said Kirshenbaum, who applied on behalf of the city council for the RI Foundation’s Community Grant program, the third year that Cranston has received one of their competitive Community Grant awards.
Cranston applied for and received a $10,000 grant from the RI Foundation’s Community Grant program and was approved for the full amount, one of 104 applicants totaling over $1 million in requests, and one of just 47 statewide to be approved.
“We’re excited about these ideas for making community happen in more and better ways at the local level. Supporting community-building will improve shared places and quality of life, promote collaboration and increase community engagement,” said Jessica David, the Foundation's executive vice president of strategy and community investments. “We’re grateful to have donors who invest in our work and partners like these that understand the needs of their community.”
Cranston’s Parks and Recreation director, Tony Liberatore, has overseen the implementation of many Cranston playgrounds and has been attending to many details of the project, including preserving a large tree in the center of the play space in order to allow for shade for the children playing there.
“Not many of our playgrounds have the opportunity for shade like this,” he said, noting that some limbs of the tree were removed for safety and for the installation of the play equipment, but that the tree itself will remain. He also explained that a new fence has already been installed around the area, and that a gate will be included so that the students coming out of Eden Park School can enter the playground from the school side, rather than the street side. When asked which other city playground this one would resemble, Liberatore answered proudly that each one was a little bit different than the next, depending on the space, and that the Eden Park playground would be individualized as well. He shared photos of the plans which show a fully accessible space including a handicap ramp and a handicap playground swing on the swing set. He also explained that initially the playground was slated to be housed on a different side of the school, but that as plans changed and a new spot was selected, it pushed back the installation of the playground slightly.
Farina emphasized the fact that in a time where political division often exists elsewhere, that this project has been one that has been a local, collaborative group effort, transcending party lines.
“It didn’t matter if a Democrat or a Republican proposed it,” he said. “It mattered that it was the right thing to do. It’s been the hallmark of my administration that we work together.”
McAuley was sure to check in with his constituents in the surrounding area, all of whom were very supportive and looking forward to the neighborhood children having a new place to play.
“The fence going in was exciting, the first sign of changes,” he said. “We have a lot of families whose children or grandchildren were either approaching school-age or were school-aged.”
Farina also commended the school committee and the school department for their help and support. “They saw that this was a project they saw as value-added, and they were very supportive,” he said.
Mayor Allan Fung was pleased to see the space being readied for the upcoming installation of the playground.
“This is exciting, especially for kids at the school, and for the community and the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s the last of our elementary schools without a playground and we’re excited to be building one that is accessible for our community and for fully-integrated use. It’s been a great partnership with Tony, Mike and Paul, and thanks to Lisa and her grant-writing for the RI Foundation’s Community Grant, and the school’s willingness to work together on this, we’re all working together.”
McAuley thanked Mayor Fung again for his support.
“Ward two constituents in Cranston really appreciate the mayor and his administration’s backing of this project,” he said. “From the get-go they’ve been very supportive, as soon as they heard of the plan.”
