Parents Say Playground At Brooklyn School Is A Safety Hazard For Children
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Children and safety go together like a school and a playground.
But as CBS 2's Steve Langford reported Tuesday, some parents in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn said one schoolyard has gone from sweet sanctuary to safety hazard.
Where can children play if they can't even be safe on a schoolyard jungle gym?
That's the question some Brooklyn parents are now asking.
On the playground at P.S. 38, right under a section of a jungle gym are exposed metal rivets that kids have been bumping their heads into.
Corinthia Carter's 6-year-old son found out the rivets the hard way.
"He just came and said my head hurts and just shortly after that there was just the blood," Carter said. "We got him into the school to the nurse, it was just dripping she couldn't even tell what had happened there was just so much blood."
Then they went to the Emergency Room for stitches and now her son doesn't play at the jungle gym much anymore, and not just because of the jagged edges.
The playground is closed after dark, but some people in the area find a way to get in anyway.
"To drop your child off on a Monday morning and that they have to make sure that they shouldn't step on a condom or step on somebody's dog feces is just, it's wrong," said parent Alexandra Nelson.
Nelson is part of a community push to make sure the school playground no longer poses a threat to their children, where gaping holes in the fences are hardly reassuring either.
"Our children aren't safe because strangers can go into the playground," Nelson said. "While they're playing, somebody can walk in there."
The Department of Education, addressing injuries on the playground equipment, said "The school has not reported any incidents involving the jungle gym during school hours."
"For the first time since 2004, when the playground was installed, the DOE said the principal was told about an incident after hours when a parent used the playground with her child," the DOE said.
"This playground needs to be modernized," Nelson said.
Parents said they are working with City Councilman Stephen Levin to obtain city funds to help replace the equipment and improve conditions at the school playground.
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