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Further proof that life will resume and activities commence when the pandemic is over: The Village of Lewiston received $250,000 worth of playground equipment on Thursday. Come spring 2021, the community will be invited to enjoy the all-inclusive playground at Marilyn Toohey Park.
Lewiston Event Center co-owner Emery Simon is allowing the Department of Public Works to store the plastic-wrapped equipment behind the bowling alley and abutting the DPW parking lot. Materials will be safeguarded for winter – and sit below security cameras.
Construction was delayed as “New York State on PAUSE” kicked in six months ago. Work will commence after the new year, under the supervision of Mark Cerrone Inc.
“When they get everything all done and in place, we’re going to have a community build to put everything together,” Mayor Anne Welch said. “We’ll have a guy from Parkitects choreograph everything and say this is how it has to be.”
The playground will provide a welcoming recreational area for children of all abilities. Plans call for enhanced safety and shading features; sound, motion/movement and sensory-sensitive areas for kids with special needs; musical instruments; “buddy” swings, We-saw seesaws and wheelchair-accessible slides; a seated zipline; open green space to interact or just stretch; and a splash pad.
At nearly 14,000 square-feet, total project cost is about $750,000. Two-thirds of that will go toward purchasing materials (including a special rubber surface to protect youth) and required infrastructure work.
Welch has previously said the final product “is going to be terrific” and “It’s a great playground for everyone – all the children.”
To date, the Village of Lewiston has received $200,000 in Greenway funds and is awaiting a $250,000 grant from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Thanks to donations from community members, nonprofit organizations and local businesses, the municipality is only about $100,000 short of the total.
For more information, or to make a donation, call the mayor’s office at 716-754-8271.
In the photos, playground equipment from Parkitects and Landscape Structures is taken off a truck and placed in between the Department of Public Works garage and the Lewiston Event Center.