With Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.’s recent pledge to invest more than $14.3 million in capital funds toward park improvements, the group working to revamp Kossuth Playground on Mosholu Parkway received the news they’ve been waiting for.

“Yes! We get to have our park! I’m so happy,” said Elizabeth Quaranta, president of Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMB), reacting to news of Diaz’s inclusion of Kossuth Playground receiving $500,000 in funds for improvements to the playground.

The playground sits atop a hill on Mosholu Parkway and is the only legally designated area for recreation on the parkway. Councilman Andrew Cohen, who represents Norwood, is adding an extra $300,000 to the $600,000 he set aside last fiscal year. Cohen said the initial idea was to do a “modest upgrade” of the park. Eventually, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation recommended a total overhaul of the 86-year-old playground.

“We are trying to push for our residents – both young and old – to develop and practice healthier habits, as well as the importance of play space for kids to be kids,” Diaz Jr. said in a statement to Norwood News. Diaz noted the playground project is “very much in tune with all of our needs that we could get behind and support” through capital monies.

The allocation coincides with FOMP’s broader attempt to renovate Kossuth Playground. Last fall, the group launched an effort with Partnerships for Parks that polled residents over how to better the playground. Recommendations including a comfort station, improved lighting, repaired surfaces, and improvements to the sprinklers and water fountains were outlined in a vision report released this past spring.

With money set aside for upgrades, the next step is a scope meeting between the Department of Parks and community residents. The process—which will eventually include the design, bidding and construction—could take about three and a half years, Cohen said.

“As long as it’s new voices to add to what is already there,” said Quaranta of the scope meeting. “But to repeat the same things over and over again…We need to use our time productively and not to go over the same things that we’ve known for so many years.”

The basketball court should be among the first amenities to get a facelift, said Quaranta, adding that kids should be directed to play on the new courts at the Williamsbridge Oval during construction.

“This park affects a lot of people in this community and we want to see it preserved for future generations,” Quaranta said. “There are a lot of trees here but we live in a very urban lifestyle. Everyone here has one job, two jobs, is trying to put food on the table, and this is where they come and sit and watch the kids play and take a breather from their apartments. The playground is a reprieve.”

Editor’s Note: Friends of Mosholu Parkland will hold a fall festival at Kossuth Playground on Oct. 8. More information is available on the Friends of Mosholu Parkway Facebook page or by emailing mosholuparkland@gmail.com.