Residents complained about this, so the civic authorities thought of possibly building parkland on a parking lot on Tenth Avenue between West 47th and 48th Street.

On June 23, 1966, the Board of Estimate approved the acquisition and condemned the parking lot.

However, because land studies delayed the project for several years, the playground did not open until December 4, 1979.

They did so by holding gatherings, getting lights installed on adjoining buildings, and advocating for a fence, which was built in the late 1980s.

[1] In 2005, the park was reconstructed with $1.2 million allocated by Council member for the 3rd District, Christine Quinn.