Russell Pedersen Playground

Playground was enhanced with new play structures, adult fitness equipment, and improved drainage and paving

Today, NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher joined New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan to celebrate the completion of a $5.4 million renovation of Russell Pedersen Playground in Bay Ridge. The project equipped the playground with brand new play structures with bright, cheery colors for kids of all ages to enjoy, and installed new fitness equipment for adults. The renovation also added a new corner entrance to the park, improved circulation throughout the space, and improved infrastructure like lighting, drainage, and water service.

"All New Yorkers, regardless of ZIP code, deserve access to beautiful, safe, and engaging greenspaces. This renovation has made Russell Pedersen Playground more resilient and more welcoming to New Yorkers of all ages, making it easier for visitors to enjoy all the benefits of time out in the great outdoors,” said NYC Parks Brooklyn Borough Commissioner Martin Maher. “We are so grateful for Councilmember Brannan’s fantastic partnership and support of local greenspaces, and we’ve been proud to work with him on this project and on critical improvements in parks throughout West and South Brooklyn, for a total investment of over $90 million.”

In addition to adding new play structures for kids and fitness equipment for adults, Parks' $5.4 million renovation project has made the neighborhood greenspace more inviting, with new shade trees, lowered perimeter fences, and improved circulation and paving. The renovation has also strengthened the park’s resiliency with new pervious sections that can act as catchment areas for stormwater and new drainage structures throughout the space, including in the existing handball and basketball courts. More improvements are planned for the park, with a total of $4 million dedicated for further enhancement.

The park is named for Russell Pedersen (1947-1968). As a young man, Pedersen was a frequent volunteer who often assisted Parks staff in what was then known as the 83rd Street and Colonial Road Playground. He helped maintain the park and program it with activities until he graduated from the adjacent Fort Hamilton High School in June 1964 and joined the United States Army. Pedersen, an infantryman, was designated for a tour of duty in Vietnam, promoted to Staff Sergeant in 1968, and killed in action later that year. Following his death, Parks officials recommended that the playground be named in his honor, a proposal adopted by a local law in 1969.