Galileo Playground on Macombs Road in Morris Heights has reopened after a $7 million reconstruction, with separate play areas for younger and older children, new swings, a spray shower and a turf lawn for neighbors to gather on. NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura cut the ribbon on Oct. 30 with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, Council Member Pierina Ana Sanchez, Bronx Community Board 5 Chairperson Osiris Guzman and families from the neighborhood.

The playground sits on Macombs Road between West 175th and West 176th Streets, on a little under three quarters of an acre. Parks says the new design was shaped by the community, and that every play feature and pathway in it is now fully accessible.

What is in the new playground

The rebuild splits the space by age, so the toddlers and the bigger kids each have their own ground:

  • For older children: new play equipment, sensory play features and a new swing set.
  • For toddlers: shaded tot swings, a quiet play corner with playhouses, and equipment sized for them.
  • A spray shower in the center of the park for summer.
  • A looping path for riding scooters, set away from the street.
  • A turf gathering area with seating that can be used for performances.
  • New trees and plantings, a drinking fountain with a bottle filler, and security lighting.

A playground named for a stargazer

The name comes from the ground itself. Before it was a playground, the site was a vacant lot, assigned to the Parks Department at the end of 1993. When the first playground opened there in the fall of 1999, after a $1.8 million project, Parks named it for the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei because the site's natural rock outcrop made a good spot for looking at the night sky.

That first design had a solar-system theme and an education area, and the park still carries 12 engraved granite plaques marking dates and discoveries from Galileo's life, from his years teaching mathematics at Pisa and Padua to the telescope he built and turned on the moon, the Milky Way and the moons of Jupiter. The surrounding green space was once known as Macombs Park and is now Galileo Park.

How the project was paid for

The reconstruction was carried out through the Community Parks Initiative, the city's program for rebuilding parks in underserved neighborhoods, with funding from the Mayor's office and the City Council. Parks lists the recent investment at the site as $7.1 million.

Community Board 5, which covers Morris Heights, had pushed for improvements to the playground for years, according to its chair.

Getting there

Galileo Playground is on Macombs Road between West 175th and West 176th Streets in the Bronx (ZIP code 10453). The closest subway stops are 176th Street on the 4 line along Jerome Avenue and 174th-175th Streets on the B and D along the Grand Concourse.

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