Spring Valley, NY – The Village of Spring Valley has been awarded $242,620 in New York State funding to improve Unity Park, a neighborhood recreational space near Hoyt and West streets in Rockland County. The award is part of the first round of funding through New York Places for Learning, Activity, and Youth Socialization, known as NY PLAYS, a statewide program supporting the construction, expansion and renovation of public playgrounds.
State records released September 22 identify the Spring Valley project as “Unity Park Recreation Improvements.” According to the official award list, the village will use the money to enhance the park’s existing recreational space. The state has not provided a detailed public list of the individual improvements, equipment or construction work planned for Unity Park, so the exact scope of the project remains to be announced.
Spring Valley’s grant is part of $67.5 million awarded to 89 playground projects across New York. The statewide awards include 36 new playgrounds, 23 major expansions and 30 renovations. More than $36 million of the funding is going to projects in communities classified by the state as underserved. The projects are spread across all 10 regions of New York.
The Mid-Hudson region received approximately $15.5 million through the funding round. Several other Rockland County projects were included. Central UTA of Monsey was awarded $2,098,690 for a new playground at 236 Cherry Lane. The Haverstraw-Stony Point Central School District received three separate awards: $652,758.93 to modernize the playground at Stony Point Elementary School, $594,760.23 to replace existing playground equipment, and $329,422.91 to renovate an outdoor recreation area at the North Rockland High School Extension.
NY PLAYS is overseen by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. The program provides capital funding to municipalities and eligible nonprofit organizations for public playground projects. It is part of the state’s broader Unplug and Play initiative, which funds recreational facilities and programs intended to expand opportunities for outdoor activity.
When the grant program opened in January, eligible applicants were permitted to seek awards ranging from $100,000 to $2.5 million. Applicants were required to provide a 20 percent match toward total project costs and demonstrate site control, provide detailed project budgets and show evidence of committed matching funds. Applications were accepted from May 4 through June 15 and were evaluated through a competitive review process that considered factors including project readiness, community need, public benefit and overall impact.
Unity Park itself predates the current grant program by more than two decades. Orange & Rockland Utilities and the Village of Spring Valley dedicated the park in May 2005 on an unused parcel provided by the utility. A Con Edison annual report from that year described the park as a cooperative project between Orange & Rockland and the village.
The $242,620 award establishes state funding for the new round of improvements, but the state’s published award information does not specify a construction start date, completion date or detailed list of planned upgrades. Those details will depend on the village’s final project plans and implementation of the grant.