A universally designed play park in Brooklyn, Queens Co., that opened in October 2023 to much fanfare and after years of local fundraising efforts still has bills outstanding.
Region of Queens council on Tuesday voted to cover $50,962 in unpaid bills. Almost $6,000 of that is accumulated interest on the debt.
A local fundraising team, working with Autism Nova Scotia, gathered about $100,000 in donations for the $630,000 playground, designed to be fully accessible and inclusive. The region donated the land, contributed an extra $111,773 and agreed to own and maintain the park. ACOA and the Nova Scotia government topped up funding.
Autism Nova Scotia, however, stated that they told the municipality’s senior staff last week about funding shortfalls and cost overruns, and that it believed that the municipality would cover it.
Some councillors said they don’t recall agreeing to do that. But they still voted to pick up the tab.
