My wife works on the playgrounds in Central Park and tells me that monkey bars with over 9 feet of fall height and kids on tire swings right below them (which I cringe at as "collateral damage") are, indeed, a thing of the past. But many beloved spaces are receiving redesigns with the original creative vision in mind -- but also years of community feedback to benefit from. These are some of the most trafficked spaces on earth. From the outside looking in, the Conservancy has always struck me as a great institution; they strive for creative excellence while still seeking to understand the unique needs and constraints that come with maintaining an island of public space in the densest city in America. Just like our industry, great engineering is the art of careful compromise. The fact that it's not one big rubberized parking lot with legal disclaimers posted is a huge testament to their creativity and humanity.
but it does look somewhat different. There are however a few other playgrounds (103rd st., Ancient Playground) on that list you found that have similar features.
It looks to me like he's lamenting the loss of a certain kind of vision in modernist playgrounds that were less about swings and slides and more about stimulating creative play. I don't know a lot about it, but you can probably dig for it. What I'll say though is that while the modernism might have been lost, the adventure has not and new playgrounds in NYC get better and better with every new or rebuilt one.
Adventure playground is there, but most of the tunnels are blocked off. You can't go inside any of the pyramids any more. It's still a great space, but it's not a free-wheeling as it was perhaps intended to be.
Are you sure about that? I was there a year and a half ago and had no trouble with the tunnels. And the similar pyramids at the 103rd st. and Ancient Playgrounds have tunnels.
