“I think it’s absurd. It’s really bad,” said a fourth grade student at C.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Learning Center. The 10-year-old looked out the window at the broken playground that is battered and covered with decorations and tents. Eight years ago, C.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Learning Center secured $495,000 for a renovated playground; however, the School Construction Authority informed them that $1,000,000 was needed to renovate the playground completely. SCA also claimed that they were unable to provide the supplemental funding for the project and proposed that the money be used for windows instead of the playground.

Since the summer started, the children have only been able to enjoy their playground a few times. They spend most of their recess periods in the gym.

“We have to play in the gym and a lot of people get hurt and bump into each other. It gets hot, too,” said the fourth grader. “They need to pay back for what they did.”

For 10 weeks, students and the Trust for Public Land created a design for the new playground, but because SCA cannot provide the extra funding, the new goal is to reach $950,000.

Contractors for the Apollo Theater have been putting up pavilions for a reception and driving spikes into the playground’s surface to erect tents. When the event ends, the children will return to a school yard with patched holes and damaged rubber surfacing and play equipment.

CS 154 Playground Renovation Coordinator Carla Burns is petitioning the SCA’s decision to not contribute funding for the renovation. She explained, “The only ones not benefiting from anything are the kids, and it’s not fair.”

The fourth grader continued, “I thinks that it’s absurd. It’s really bad. It was given to us by the community. They [the Apollo] made the playground worse. That’s our playground and no one even gets to use it now. We are children and they probably forget what it’s like to be kids. The playground doesn’t cost a pencil. It’s like they’re being ungrateful.”

The Amsterdam News contacted the Apollo Theater for a statement, but they did not reply by press time.