PS 8 is located across Mosholu Parkway between Bainbridge and Briggs.  Students use the playground as-is in its debilitating state. They need outdoor space to play and learn. The playground has hosted several small festivals, events, and activities where playground users came out to Mosholu and enjoyed their day inside the park. Community visioning was provided for community residents for the playground where their needs and wants were shared on activity boards. Those visionings helped bring to life, three colorful murals that still today are wrapped around the playground. 

The playground needs renovations! Bedford Park is going through an aggressive housing development that has welcomed hundreds of families in the area. Mosholu Playground is more important now than ever. Not only does it need to serve grades 1 through 5 for PS8 -- but also the old and new families in the Bedford Park community. 

The tree pits are compacted with 2 missing trees. 

The playground is ALL asphalt- hard concrete, cracked, crumbling,  and very hot

Lack of benches for families - no picnic tables - limited playground equipment/structure

Lack of greenery- no gardens for stormwater retention. 

Sprinklers are outdated and the ground is cracked from the water. 

NYC Parks Department recently renovated Kossuth Playground on the opposite side of the Parkway which is heavily visited by that area of the community across the street from another school. It cannot accommodate other neighborhoods.

Mosholu Playground needs much-needed, much-desired reconstruction and improvements that need funding from our elected officials.  The last reconstruction of this playground happened in 2003!  The pandemic has delayed a lot of community advocacy for the reconstruction of this playground until now. Please sign this petition to expedite the advocacy for funding and to get all of our signatures on the Councilperson's, PARKS, and Borough President's desk! 
Some of the most important environmental considerations include: the size of the play space, social aspects, sensory features, familiarity with space and materials, and complexity and variety of materials

This issue of not having a safe updated space is very, very urgent, one that directly affects students' physical and mental wellness! A playground is a get-away from stress and it encourages hope and happiness for a child. We need that here in Bedford Park. 

As we all know these pandemic years have been extremely painful for children, depriving them of social interaction and hindering emotional development. Recess is one of the few opportunities students have to freely engage with peers and feel some form of freedom being outside. 

Sign our petition today to show your support for the PS 8 student community and the community of families that need Mosholu Playground.