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51-667: Robert Moses Playground is a 1.3-acre (0.53 ha) playground and park in Manhattan , New York City . It is located in the Murray Hill neighborhood on First Avenue between 41st and 42nd streets, immediately south of the headquarters of the United Nations . The park is named for New York's "master builder" Robert Moses , the former head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (which constructed

102-408: A baseball diamond , a skating arena, a basketball court , or a tether ball . Public playground equipment installed in the play areas of parks , schools , childcare facilities, institutions, multiple family dwellings, restaurants, resorts, and recreational developments, and other areas of public use. A type of playground called a playscape is designed to provide a safe environment for play in

153-537: A 14-member board of directors. Its management team is headed by Executive Vice President and General Counsel Robert Cole, who reports to the board. In 2017, the UNDC had operating expenses of $ 28.05 million, an outstanding debt of $ 70.11 million, and a level of staffing of 12 people. The UNDC has assisted in developing One UN Plaza , Two UN Plaza, and Three UN Plaza. Three UN Plaza is leased to UNICEF as its world headquarters. This human rights -related article

204-501: A Standardized Document and Training System for certification of Playground Safety Inspectors. These regulations are nationwide and provide a basis for safe playground installation and maintenance practices. ASTM F1487-07 deals with specific requirements regarding issues such as play ground layout, use zones, and various test criteria for determining play ground safety. ASTM F2373 covers public use play equipment for children 6–24 months old. This information can be applied effectively only by

255-549: A building was raised by the United Nations in June 2010. Under this deal, the city would then expand the nearby East River Greenway to compensate for the loss of this park. On December 8, 2010, Manhattan Community Board 6 gave their support to this plan, providing that the esplanade was expanded. In March 2011, the city gave approval to move ahead with a feasibility study for this project as part of Mayor Bloomberg's Vision 2020: New York City Comprehensive Waterfront Plan . If agreed by

306-423: A child's creativity and imagination with role play panels or puzzles. There is a general consensus that physical activity reduces the risk of psychological problems in children and fosters their self-esteem. The American Chief Medical Officer's report ( Department of Health , 2004), stated that a review of available research suggests that the health benefits of physical activity in children are predominantly seen in

357-501: A minimal steel framework while providing a web of nylon ropes for children to climb on. Playgrounds with equipment that children may fall off often use rubber mulch on the ground to help cushion the impact. Playgrounds are also made differently for different age groups. Often schools have a playground that is taller and more advanced for older schoolchildren and a lower playground with less risk of falling for younger children. Safety discussions do not normally include an evaluation of

408-434: A natural setting. Through history, children played in their villages and neighbourhoods, especially in the streets and lanes near their homes. In the 19th century, developmental psychologists such as Friedrich Fröbel proposed playgrounds as a developmental aid, or to imbue children with a sense of fair play and good manners. In Germany, a few playgrounds were erected in connection to schools. Thomas Carlyle called for

459-485: A precarious, high position. By contrast, the child on a low piece of equipment, designed to reduce the incidence of injuries from falls, experiences no such thrill, sense of mastery, or accomplishment. Additionally, a lack of experience with heights as a child is associated with increased acrophobia (fear of heights) in adults. The appearance of safety encourages unreasonable risk-taking in children, who might take more reasonable risks if they correctly understood that it

510-410: A result of what some experts say is overprotectiveness driven by a fear of lawsuits, playgrounds have been designed to be, or at least to appear, excessively safe. This overprotectiveness may protect the playground owner from lawsuits, but it appears to result in a decreased sense of achievement and increased fears in children. The equipment limitations result in the children receiving less value from

561-497: A slightly higher percentage of injuries (55%) than were boys (45%). Injuries to the head and face accounted for 49% of injuries to children 0–4, while injuries to the arm and hand accounted for 49% of injuries to children ages 5–14. Approximately 15% of the injuries were classified as severe, with 3% requiring hospitalization. The most prevalent diagnoses were fractures (39%), lacerations (22%), contusions/abrasions (20%), strains/sprains (11%). For children ages 0–4, climbers (40%) had

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612-637: A trained C.P.S.I. A National Listing of Trained Playground Safety Inspectors is available for many states. A Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) is a career that was developed by the National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI) and is recognized nationally by the National Recreation and Park Association or N.R.P.A. (Some information sources offer interactive examples of playground equipment that violates CPSC guidelines.) In Australia, Standards Australia

663-452: A wooded area or field. For many children, it is their favorite time of day when they get to be on the playground for free time or recess. It acts as a release for them from the pressures of learning during the day. They know that time on the playground is their own time. A type of playground called a playscape can provide children with the necessary feeling of ownership that Moore describes above. Playscapes can also provide parents with

714-889: Is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play , typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people with disabilities. A playground might exclude children below (or above) a certain age. Modern playgrounds often have recreational equipment such as the seesaw , merry-go-round , swingset , slide , jungle gym , chin-up bars , sandbox , spring rider , trapeze rings, playhouses , and mazes , many of which help children develop physical coordination, strength, and flexibility, as well as providing recreation and enjoyment and supporting social and emotional development. Common in modern playgrounds are play structures that link many different pieces of equipment. Playgrounds often also have facilities for playing informal games of adult sports , such as

765-455: Is possible to break a bone on the soft surfaces under most modern equipment. Finally, the playground that is designed to appear low-risk is boring, especially to older children. As a result, they tend to seek out alternative play areas, which may be very unsafe. Risk management is an important life skill, and risk aversion in playgrounds is unhelpful in the long term. Experts studying child development such as Tim Gill have written about

816-476: Is responsible for the publication of the playground safety Standards AS/NS4422, AS/NZS4486.1 and AS4685 Parts 1 to 6. The University of Technology Sydney is responsible for the training and accreditation of playground inspectors. The Register of Playground Inspectors Australia lists all the individuals who have been certified to inspector playgrounds within Australia . European Standards EN 1177 specifies

867-450: Is used equally by boys and girls. Professionals recognize that the social skills that children develop on the playground often become lifelong skill sets that are carried forward into their adulthood. Independent research concludes that playgrounds are among the most important environments for children outside the home. Most forms of play are essential for healthy development, but free, spontaneous play—the kind that occurs on playgrounds—is

918-636: The Secretariat Building and would have subsequently been used by the United Nations as additional office space. The loss of parkland was proposed to be offset by the construction of a new park in the form of an expansion of the East River Greenway alongside the United Nations campus. This proposal was rejected by the New York State Legislature in 2005. The most recent proposal to take the park's land for

969-435: The carousel , sphere, seesaw , rocket, bridge, etc. Playground design is influenced by the intended purpose and audience. Separate play areas might be offered to accommodate very young children. Single, large, open parks tend to not to be used by older schoolgirls or less aggressive children, because there is little opportunity for them to escape more aggressive children. By contrast, a park that offers multiple play areas

1020-571: The child savers sought to move children into controlled areas to limit 'delinquency'. Meanwhile, at schools and settlement houses for poorer children with limited access to education, health services and daycare, playgrounds were included to support these institutions' goal of keeping children safe and out of trouble. One of the first playgrounds in the United States was built in San Francisco 's Golden Gate Park in 1887. In 1906

1071-423: The unintended consequences of injury prevention, such as older children who do not exercise at the playground because the playground is too boring. Safety efforts sometimes paradoxically increase the likelihood and severity of injuries because of how people choose to use playground equipment. For example, older children may choose to climb on the outside of a "safe" but boring play structure, rather than using it

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1122-527: The 1901 publication of a report on numbers of children being run down by cars in New York City. In tandem with the new concern about the danger of roads, educational theories of play, including by Herbert Spencer and John Dewey inspired the emergence of the reformist playground movement , which argued that playgrounds had educational value, improved attention in class, enhanced physical health, and reduced truancy. Interventionist programs such as by

1173-497: The Community Construction Fund, a flagship programme by Norfolk County Council. Safety, in the context of playgrounds, is generally understood as the prevention of injuries. Risk aversion and fear of lawsuits on the part of the adults who design playgrounds prioritizes injury prevention above other factors, such as cost or developmental benefit to the users. It is important that children gradually develop

1224-664: The Playground Association of America was founded and a year later Luther Gulick became president. It later became the National Recreation Association and then the National Recreation and Park Association . Urging the need for playgrounds, former President Theodore Roosevelt stated in 1907: In post war London the landscape architect and children's rights campaigner Lady Allen of Hurtwood introduced and popularised

1275-534: The United States, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground-related injuries. Approximately 156,040 (75.8%) of the 1999 injuries occurred on equipment designed for public use; 46,930 (22.8%) occurred on equipment designed for home use; and 2,880 (1.4%) occurred on homemade playground equipment (primarily rope swings). From January 1990 to August 2000, CPSC received reports of 147 deaths to children younger than 15 that involved playground equipment. Girls were involved in

1326-400: The amelioration of risk factors for disease, avoidance of weight gain, achieving a peak bone mass and mental well-being. Exercise programmes "may have short term beneficial effects on self esteem in children and adolescents" although high-quality trials are lacking. Commentators argue that the quality of a child's exercise experience can affect their self-esteem. Ajzen TPB (1991) promotes

1377-597: The assurance of their child's safety and wellbeing, which may not be prevalent in an open field or wooded area. In the UK, several organisations exist that help provide funding for schools and local authorities to construct playgrounds. These include the Biffa Award, which provides funding under the Small Grants Scheme; Funding Central, which offers support for voluntary organisations and social enterprises; and

1428-578: The city and the heads of both houses of the New York State Legislature, the United Nations Development Corporation could begin preliminary planning for a new office tower, which could be no taller than the 505-foot (154 m) tall Secretariat Building. The UN would pay the city at least $ 65 million for the park. The plan is opposed by some residents of Tudor City, which is across the street from

1479-524: The concept of the ’junk playground’ - where the equipment was constructed from the recycled junk and rubble left over from the Blitz . She campaigned for facilities for children growing up in the new high-rise developments in Britain's cities and wrote a series of illustrated books on the subject of playgrounds, and at least one book on adventure playgrounds, spaces for free creativity by children, which helped

1530-470: The establishment of public playgrounds within industrial cities such as Manchester , England, in Past and Present (1843), saying that "every toiling Manchester" ought to have "a hundred acres or so of free greenfield, with trees on it, conquered, for its little children to disport in". Manchester became the site of the first purpose-built public-access playground, which opened in a park in 1859. However, it

1581-553: The fence. There have been at least three attempts to take the park's land for building projects. In 1979, a proposal was made by the city to swap the western portion of the park's land with private parks in Tudor City , enabling Harry Helmsley to construct a skyscraper on the site in exchange for converting the private parks in Tudor City into public parks (which Helmsley had planned to develop with buildings). The land swap

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1632-910: The highest incidence rates, followed by slides (33%). For children ages 5–14, climbing equipment (56%) had the highest incidence rates, followed by swings (24%). Most injuries on public playground equipment were associated with climbing equipment (53%), swings (19%), and slides (17%). Falls to the surface was a contributing factor in 79% of all injuries. On home equipment, 81% were associated with falls. In 1995, playground-related injuries among children ages 14 and younger cost an estimated $ 1.2 billion. On public playgrounds, more injuries occur on climbers than on any other equipment. On home playgrounds, swings are responsible for most injuries. Playgrounds in low-income areas have more maintenance-related hazards than playgrounds in high-income areas. For example, playgrounds in low-income areas had significantly more trash, rusty play equipment, and damaged fall surfaces. As

1683-470: The idea spread worldwide. Playgrounds were an integral part of urban culture in the USSR . In the 1970s and 1980s, there were playgrounds in almost every park in many Soviet cities. Playground apparatus was reasonably standard all over the country; most of them consisted of metallic bars with relatively few wooden parts, and were manufactured in state-owned factories. Some of the most common constructions were

1734-586: The main concern when building with wood material. Wet weather is also a threat to children playing on wooden structures. Most woods are treated and do not wear terribly fast, but with enough rain, wooden playgrounds can become slippery and dangerous for children to be on. In the United States, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American National Standards Institute have created

1785-419: The most beneficial type of play. Exciting, engaging and challenging playground equipment is important to keep children happy while still developing their learning abilities. These should be developed in order to suit different groups of children for different stages of learning, such as specialist playground equipment for nursery & pre-school children teaching them basic numeracy & vocabulary, to building

1836-416: The notion that children's self-esteem is enhanced through the encouragement of physical mastery and self-development. It can be seen that playgrounds provide an ideal opportunity for children to master physical skills, such as learning to swing, balance and climb. Personal development may be gained through the enhancement of skills, such as playing, communicating and cooperating with other children and adults in

1887-456: The over-protective bias in provision for children, particularly with playgrounds. Instead of a constructed playground, allowing children to play in a natural environment such as open land or a park is sometimes recommended; children gain a better sense of balance playing on uneven ground, and learn to interpret the complexity and signals of nature more effectively. Playgrounds can be: United Nations Development Corporation The UNDC has

1938-814: The park. On October 5, 2011, the city and state reached an agreement to use the western portion of Robert Moses Playground for an expansion of the United Nations campus. In exchange, the United Nations Development Corporation would pay $ 73 million to fund the development of the East River esplanade between 38th and 60th streets. To make up for the loss of parkland, the City will convert Asser Levy Place into parkland. 40°44′54″N 73°58′11″W  /  40.748232°N 73.96966°W  / 40.748232; -73.96966 Playground A playground , playpark , or play area

1989-399: The play time. The enclosed, padded, constrained, low structures prevent the child from taking risks and developing a sense of mastery over his or her environment. Successfully taking a risk is empowering to children. For example, a child climbing to the top of a tall jungle gym feels happy about successfully managing the challenging climb to the top, and he experiences the thrill of being in

2040-468: The playground as part of the construction of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel ), who later advocated to save the park when a skyscraper was proposed on the site in the early 1980s. The block the park is located on was originally obtained from Consolidated Edison in 1937 as part of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel construction. Land for public park purposes was subsequently donated to the city in exchange for

2091-777: The playground. It can also be seen that public and private playgrounds act as a preventative health measure amongst young people because they promote physical activity at a stage in children's lives when they are active and not yet at risk from opting out of physical activity. Children have devised many playground games and pastimes. But because playgrounds are usually subject to adult supervision and oversight, young children's street culture often struggles to fully thrive there. Research by Robin Moore concluded shown that playgrounds need to be balanced with marginal areas that (to adults) appear to be derelict or wasteground but to children they are areas that they can claim for themselves, ideally

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2142-509: The post-installation inspections recommended by EN 1176. Because the majority of playground injuries are due to falls from equipment, injury prevention efforts are primarily directed at reducing the likelihood of a child falling and reducing the likelihood of a severe injury if the child does fall. This is done by: How effective these strategies are at preventing injuries is debated by experts, because when playgrounds are made from padded materials, children often take more risks. Each year in

2193-468: The requirements for surfaces used in playgrounds. For each material type and height of equipment it specifies a minimum depth of material required. EN 1176 covers playground equipment standards. In the UK, playground inspectors can sit the examinations of the Register of Play Inspectors International at the three required levels - routine, operational and annual. Annual inspectors are able to undertake

2244-460: The site since 1972. This asphalt playground was replaced by a synthetic turf field in July 2021 to improve existing parks due to the temporary loss of park space during construction of the city's East Side Coastal Resiliency project. A renovation of the playground on the eastern side of the park was completed in 1998 and included the addition of Art Deco silhouettes of a dozen of Moses' projects along

2295-429: The skill of risk assessment , and a completely safe environment does not allow that. Sometimes the safety of playgrounds is disputed in school or among regulators. Over at least the last twenty years, the kinds of equipment to be found in playgrounds has changed, often towards safer equipment built with plastic. For example, an older jungle gym might be constructed entirely from steel bars, while newer ones tend to have

2346-411: The slide independently, then this injury would not happen, because when the shoe caught, the child would have stopped sliding rather than being propelled down the slide by the adult's weight. Also concerning the safety of playgrounds is the material in which they are built. Wooden playgrounds act as a more natural environment for the children to play but can cause even more minor injuries. Slivers are

2397-512: The taking of a portion of St. Gabriel's Park (now named St. Vartan Park ) for an approach roadway providing access to the tunnel. The Park itself was completed in 1941 and shares the block with the large ventilation building for the tunnel. It was named for Moses in 1982. The asphalt playground on the west side of the park was often used for roller hockey , and the East End Hockey Association had been organizing games at

2448-421: The way the designers intended. Similarly, rather than letting young children play on playground slides by themselves, some injury-averse parents seat the children on the adult's lap and go down the slide together. This seems safer at first glance, but if the child's shoe catches on the edge of the slide, this arrangement frequently results in the child's leg being broken. If the child had been permitted to use

2499-495: Was approved by the City Planning Commission but was opposed by a number of groups, including the East End Hockey Association, which had gained the support of Robert Moses in their fight to save the park. Although the proposal was initially supported by Mayor Ed Koch , he changed his mind when appraisals showed that the public parkland was more valuable than the private parks in Tudor City. The land swap proposal

2550-673: Was only in the early 20th century, as the street lost its role as the default public space and became planned for use by motor cars, that momentum built to remove children from the new dangers and confine them to segregated areas to play. In the United States, organisations such as the National Highway Protective Society highlighted the numbers killed by automobiles, and urged the creation of playgrounds, aiming to free streets for vehicles rather than children's play. The Outdoor Recreation League provided funds to erect playgrounds on parkland, especially following

2601-519: Was vetoed by the Board of Estimate in 1981 and the City Council voted to name the park after Moses in 1982. In 2002, a proposal was made by the city to allow for the United Nations to construct a skyscraper on the western portion of the park's land that would be connected to its existing campus via a tunnel under 42nd Street. The new building would have been used as swing space during renovation of

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