After years of fighting to convert a slab of concrete in Arverne into a city playground , local leaders and kids take a victory lap.
They unveiled the new Cardozo Playground Thursday. Senator James Sanders Jr. put two million dollars into the project when he was still on the city council.
His successor, Councilman Donovan Richards allocated another one million dollars to finish the job.
The playground now has new hoops, volleyball nets, benches and play equipment.
"I'm going down that sliding part. I'm going to be the biggest kid out here. There's gonna be no kid bigger than me,"said Senator Sanders.
"When our children walk outside the door, they don't have to be limited to one piece of playground equipment. They now have a metropolis of a park. And is phenomenal, this a jewel," said Councilman Richards.
Richards says playgrounds like Cardozo are just one step in a larger project to revitalize the Rockaways.