SI Tech CAD in the Community
Historic Richmondtown at Play
During the 2015 - 2016 school year we were approached by Deputy Borough President Ed Burke of the Staten Island Borough President's Office, as well as Ed Wiseman of Historic Richmond Town to participate in a friendly contest with our sister school, Ralph McKee High School to design a new playground area that was to be one of the important pieces of a massive re-imagining of Historic Richmond Town to be a location filled with all the history that is there now, in addition to shops, events, and child-centered areas and activities. Mr. Burke was speaking for BP James Oddo, whom made an appearance in the CAD Dojo with Mr. Burke and Mr. Wiseman to check on development. Mr. Oddo was part of the process after Mr. Burke presented the idea to us. I quickly assembled a team of reliable and talented students and we went to work. We were all promised that our design would have great influence on the real playground, as we assured them it would have a professional touch with no aspect overlooked.
We came up with a design that would represent all of the historical attractions of Staten Island including the Ferry, the lighthouse, The Verrazzano Bridge, the New York Wheel (which was never built), Ralph's Ices, a Teepee, and a few other things. The pathway along which the playground pieces were placed was in the shape of Staten Island. All playground pieces, the pathway, and surrounding areas were to be constructed of child safety grade material, as outlined by guidelines of the NYC Parks department. The entire playground, including the pieces, were designed to be ADA compliant including wheelchair accessibility. We designed the area to be surrounded by benches for parents to sit while watching the kids play. The site had a set-piece that was used to film a few episodes of HBO's Boardwalk Empire that looked like an ice-cream shop. We intended for it to become a real Ralph's Ices location... more on that later. Lastly we called for a common NYC Parks department bathroom to be installed on site.
The project came to an end towards June of that year with us going to the office of the Borough President for the kids to present their idea to television cameras, members of McKee high school, and the architects of the proposed renovations. The team assembled a video of the site made via a virtual tour, a slide show with the digital CAD versions of the attractions, and a well rehearsed presentation. I was very proud to see them put together perfectly a playground that was sure to be constructed to spec. But it wasn't. As it turns out the architects had no intention to fulfill their promises and then Richmond Town finances hit the wall. The final insult was that within one year Egger's Ice Cream parlor opened in the location we specified in our plans to be open most nights during the summers. We received no acknowledgement I wish to thank Ed Burke for his enthusiam, genuine care, and encouragement through the process. We would later collaborate a few more times. He is the real deal, an honest man with a passion for making Staten Island a better place.
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