Trust for Public Land and The Kings Highway Academy Celebrate Community Schoolyard Opening in Brooklyn
NEW YORK – Trust for Public Land (TPL), in partnership with P.S. 197 The Kings Highway Academy, the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the NYC School Construction Authority, and the Midwood community, are proud to announce the opening of a newly revitalized community schoolyard in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood.
This exciting new schoolyard will provide over 27,000 Brooklyn residents, including more than 6,000 children, with access to a park within a 10-minute walk of home. Designed with extreme weather resilience at its core, the space is expected to capture 1.7 million gallons of stormwater annually – easing local flooding – while 18 new trees will provide shade, cooling and a welcoming environment for students, families and the whole community.
The grand opening celebration that occurred onSeptember 26 during Climate Week NYC featured a drumline, cheerleaders, red carpet, student performances—bringing the community together to mark this milestone moment for Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood.
“Every child should have a safe, welcoming place to play, learn, and connect with nature,” said Tamar Renaud, New York State Director for Trust for Public Land. “This new community schoolyard at P.S. 197 will give students and their families a beautiful space to enjoy, while also protecting the Midwood neighborhood from flooding and extreme heat. It’s a powerful example of how we can reimagine schoolyards as neighborhood assets that bring joy, health, and resilience to the entire community.”
“With climate change increasingly threatening our city, we need to creatively adapt,” said Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice Executive Director Elijah Hutchinson. “Our playgrounds can help us manage water from intense storms, provide shade on a hot day, and be an outdoor classroom while serving as a fun and safe place for some of the families that need it the most in our environmental justice communities.”
“The transformation of P.S. 197’s schoolyard reflects the very best of what we can achieve through collaboration and innovation,” said Nina Kubota, President and CEO of the NYC School Construction Authority. “By creating a safe, sustainable, and welcoming space, we’re not only enhancing the learning environment for students but also providing the Midwood community with a vibrant green space that will inspire connection, resilience, and pride for years to come.”
The P.S. 197 schoolyard transformation is part of TPL’s nationwide Community Schoolyards initiative, which reimagines underutilized asphalt schoolyards into vibrant public parks – helping to close the park equity gap, expand access to outdoor space, and build extreme weather resilience.
is the 351st Community Schoolyard that TPL has opened since kicking off the program in 1996. It is the 237th Community Schoolyard that TPL has opened in New York City.
In New York City, the Community Schoolyards program has brought nearly 5 million people within a 10-minute walk of a park, delivered parks to New Yorkers at half the time and cost as the city alone, captured over 67 million gallons of stormwater, and increased urban tree canopy by 4,000 trees.
The P.S. 197 project was made possible through a combination of public and private support, including The Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and S&P.
About Trust for Public Land
Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit that works to connect everyone to the benefits and joys of the outdoors. As a leader in equitable access to the outdoors, TPL works with communities to create parks and protect public land where they are needed most. Since 1972, TPL has protected more than 4 million acres of public land, created more than 5,504 parks, trails, schoolyards, and iconic outdoor places, raised $111 billion in public funding for parks and public lands, and connected nearly 9.7 million people to the outdoors. To learn more, visit tpl.org.
