Say goodbye to the old fashioned slides at Saddle Rock Elementary School and John F. Kennedy Elementary School.
Aging play structures at both schools will soon be replaced by brand new, state-of-the-art equipment.
“What they are going with, it’s a whole new philosophy on playground equipment,” said Alfredo Cavallaro, director of facilities and operations for the Great Neck school district. “It’s not the standard swings and slide like we grew up with. It is completely new equipment that strengthens the core. Both playgrounds will be ADA accessible.”
A relatively new play area at JFK will be expanded with a new structure while aging, decades-old structures at JFK and Saddle Rock will be torn down, with Saddle Rock also receiving a new structure.
Cavallaro said the structures are so old they cannot be salvaged.
“We’ve gotten our money’s worth out of them,” he said. “A lot of children have played on those systems.”
With a target installation date of July 31, children should find new equipment by the start of the next school year.
Saddle Rock Elementary School President Eric Nezowitz is asked nearly every day when the new playground equipment will arrive.
“Sure, we’ve very excited,” he said. “The kids are all excited that they are getting a new playground.”
In their persuasive letters, many of the first grade wrote to Nezowitz requesting new equipment.
“I made like I was the hero and said, ‘you asked for new playground equipment, I got you new playground equipment,'” he said. “They got the playground because they asked me for it through the persuasive letters.”
Playground facilities are one of the many areas that the school district is constantly updating, said board of education Trustee Larry Gross.
“Kids are out everyday. They need things to be safe,” he said. “You hear all the time that people are gaining weight. Kids should have a good recess.”
