Transportation
Port Authority Reopens Popular Manhattan Playground Closed by George Washington Bridge Construction
Dolphin Playground was closed about eight years ago due to nearby construction on the bridge
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey welcomed families to the reopening of Dolphin Playground near the George Washington Bridge in Manhattan on May 28 after the park was closed about eight years early due to bridge construction.
About eight years after a popular New York City playground was closed to accommodate the major rehabilitation of the nearby George Washington Bridge, “Dolphin Playground” was reopened on May 28 by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The bridge’s south sidewalk—currently under reconstruction as part of the $2.1-billion Restoring the George rehabilitation program—is scheduled to reopen later this year. That will give pedestrians dedicated use of the south path, while cyclists can use the north path. Proceeding in phases across both the New York and New Jersey sides of the crossing, the program includes replacing the bridge's 592 original steel suspender ropes, roadway rehabilitation and ramp reconstruction.
Because construction required use of the park’s surrounding area, the playground in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan was originally closed in 2018.
“As the construction footprint around the bridge's New York approach has evolved,” the Port Authority, which owns the park, stated in a press release, “the Port Authority has worked to address the operational and security requirements necessary to reopen the playground to the public.”
The Covid-19 pandemic, followed by the death of the park’s founder and volunteer caretake, Jeanlee Poggi, in 2021, also kept the park shuttered. Parents and community members pressing the Port Authority to reopen it were also seeking nonprofits and volunteers to care for the park. In January the Community Board 12- Manhattan passed a resolution pressing the Port Authority to reopen the playground. The Port Authority is now not only managing the park, it is doubling its hours of operation.
“Dolphin Playground is a reminder that the Port Authority’s work is more than moving people across towering bridges and massive airports,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia at the park’s reopening. “It's also about being good neighbors to the communities around our infrastructure and the families who call them home.”
Established in 1994, the park, officially named the George Washington Bridge Playground, is known for the blue dolphin statue which sprays water from its mouth in summer.
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The agency invested about $400,000 in the playground’s original construction on port authority-land acquired in the 1960s for bridge approach ramps and fully renovated it in 2015, adding accessible features and new play equipment, the statement notes.
The park reopened days after two incidents involving concrete and metal spalling causing debris to fall on heavily traveled roadways leading to the George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority says the two incidents were the result of severe winter conditions with “extremely cold temperatures and significant snowfall.”
