Friends of Kensington Playground Updates

by Jane Comins, FKP

Neighborhood Cookout: We hosted a fun neighborhood cookout in August to celebrate the opening of the splash pad and the 5 new, colorful trash receptacles painted by artists at Fellowship Place. Free food, refreshments, and games were enjoyed by 60 people on a hot summer August afternoon.

Splash Pad is Working! Kensington Playground’s splash pad has been fixed and is working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily! We’d like to thank Mayor Elicker and the New Haven Parks Department for repairing the splash pad and cleaning the clogged drain pipe. Kensington Playground, with the working splash pad and grove of mature trees, is now the coolest spot in the Dwight neighborhood and the perfect place for kids and their families in the summer heat!

Lawsuit: Earlier this summer, the court struck down the City’s motion to dismiss our lawsuit, so our case continues.

Youth@Work Grant for Neighborhood Survey: We had 3 High School students from the Dwight Neighborhood working with us for 5 weeks this summer through the City of New Haven’s Youth@Work program. The students surveyed residents on parks, air quality, and human health. Their report on the outcomes of their survey will be available this fall.

501(c)(3) status: We are now a 501(c)(3), so all donations are tax-deductible retroactively to 2020. Please reach out to us if you need an updated receipt. We would like to thank UConn’s CT Urban Legal Initiative for assisting us with our application.

Fundraising: We hope that you will make a donation to legal costs now to keep our work moving forward, as we expect another legal bill soon. All donations will be used towards legal expenses unless you specify that your donation is to be used for an event.

Learn More. Get Involved. Donate: We remain hopeful that our efforts will result in the city reclaiming/saving this valuable and irreplaceable neighborhood greenspace. Please visit our website to get involved, sign our petition, and donate toward our lawsuit to save Kensington Playground at: KensingtonPlayground.org.