NYC to expand access to playgrounds after school hours

There's a new push to keep school playgrounds in the city open past school hours, including on weekends

So will the gates be unlocked? Fox Ice Jessica Formoso has the details on calls for expanded access

Councilwoman Gail Brewer pushing for legislation to require the Department of Education and the city's Department of Parks to open school yards to the public

It's really frustrating. I have it in my neighborhood. You walk by a playground that's half a block big and summertime is hot

locked, can't get in. The idea is to open the schoolyards to the public after school hours

on weekends, and throughout the summer. She says this would give residents the opportunity to be

outdoors, exercise, and enjoy family time in a safe place. How better to keep people off the street

and fighting with each other than having a park that is neighborhood, so people who are older are

paying attention and playing basketball off the street and doing something positive

According to the New York City Parks Department, hundreds of schoolyards have become playgrounds for the public However Brewer says there are still many more throughout the five boroughs that are not including this one here at PS9 on the Upper West

Side. They just locked us off from everything that we have here. Gary Cooper lives just feet away

He's been in the neighborhood for 42 years. I went to PS9 and when I was a kid, it was open to

the community. Cooper says his son always wants to go outside and play, yet he's restricted to do so

on his own block. Very frustrating. The kids would benefit from playing in the park

I see they built a jungle gym here and the kids can't use it. So in this half of the time in the

summer, no one's in there. Brewer says the independent budget office has run the numbers

and it is possible to unlock the gates. They would include paying the custodian of the school

to be sure that the playground is clean for the kids on Monday morning. But other than that

there's no cost. It's a question of just opening the gate. Residents like Cooper hope this piece

of legislation moves forward. He says there's nothing negative about this. It's about giving

the children an opportunity to be kids in a safe place. On the Upper West Side, I'm Jessica Formoso

Fox 5 News