ALMOST FINISHED: The renovation of the Mary Moss Playground at John and Lytle streets is nearly ready for children to romp through its sprayground, while older residents of the neighborhood will be able to relax on its new benches and picnic in its pavilion. The official re-opening is scheduled for August 8. (Photo by Erica M. Cardenas)

By Anne Levin

Counting on the weather to cooperate, Princeton is planning an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the renovated Mary Moss Playground on Wednesday, August 8 at 11 a.m. The park named for the late Mary Moss, who worked at a local nursery school and was an important figure in the Witherspoon-Jackson community, is at John and Lytle streets.

“We’re very pleased with it. We hope the community feels the same way,” said Municipal Engineer Deanna Stockton. Work started on the $700,000 project in April. The small wading pool on the upper tier was removed, replaced by a sprayground with 14 spray features. Other improvements include new playground equipment, a covered pavilion with picnic tables, new landscaping and added trees, a stone boulder embankment with slides, new benches, bike racks, a drinking fountain, and other amenities.

The renovation was the subject of much discussion among members of the Witherspoon-Jackson community before Princeton Council voted unanimously to approve a renovation plan in June 2016. Built in 1946, the park was, for some time, the only place African American children could play. Longtime resident Leighton Newlin was one of those to have reservations about the proposal when it was being discussed. But he has come around.

“I am elated that Princeton’s 20th historic district will have the newly-designed Mary Moss Playground as its centerpiece,” he said in an email this week. “Because Ms. Moss’s greatest impact on the community was rooted in her love and nurturing of young children, it is fitting that the playground named in her honor will welcome a new generation of young people in Princeton’s most diverse and eclectic neighborhood.”

Newlin played in the park as a youngster. “It promises to be a haven where people can sit quietly on a bench and daydream about being young again and give thought about how happy they were being at the pool under the watchful eye of Ms. Moss and others. I actually have a tear in my eye thinking about it,” he said. “My prayer is that the playground will be as nurturing for the children now as it was generations ago.”

Ben Stentz, executive director of Princeton’s Department of Recreation, said the biggest challenge of the project was making sure its history was respected while modern improvements were made. “It was important for us to build consensus in the community, with all of the stakeholders, especially the people who live in the community and will be the primary users of the space,” he said. “Because it has a long history, folks had a lot of passion about it. And I always took that to be a good thing.”

The park was slightly
enlarged after the town was able to acquire the property next door. One house on that property was torn down, and Habitat for Humanity is proposing two affordable housing units for the remaining lot. Stentz said the sprayground is on the upper level, where the pool was located, and the new playground equipment is on the lower level, where it was previously located. “We’ve kept that framework,” he said. “It is a little bit wider, though.”

The space was not enough to allow for a major expansion. “But it is a better layout, with a lot of new plantings that I think will be well received,” he said. “The six new trees we’ve added are still young, but in time they will create some nice, shaded areas.”

The comments Stentz has heard so far have been positive. “I grew up here, I know a lot of folks. People have texted me, or just told me that they are happy to see the construction underway,” he said. “Now it’s at the 10 yard line, and we’re pushing it over the goal line.”

The idea is to provide a neighborhood gathering place for residents and their children and grandchildren. “The playground equipment is specifically designed for the 2- to 5-year-old age range,” said Stockon. “But the park is really meant for everyone, from infants to 100 years old.”