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Children's Playground Reopens At Hudson River Park For First Time Since Sandy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Pier 25 Children's Playground at Hudson River Park reopened Saturday, for the first time since Superstorm Sandy.

Hudson River Park Trust officials and Friends of Hudson River Park donors cut a ribbon and opened the playground Saturday. The playground sustained $450,000 damage as a result of Sandy, and required months of work to prepare for the summer season.

"It's been under construction for a couple of months now, and after we investigated what we thought happened during the storm surge, because we had the river being pushed in through the Atlantic from the south, and from the Long Island Sound from the north, so we have a lot of pressure coming from both sides, and we think that's what created these eruptions," said Madelyn Wils, president and chief executive officer of the Hudson River Park Trust.

As a result, Wils said, the one of two playgrounds in the TriBeCa community – which is home to many families – was left unusable.

"We had so many people in the neighborhood who were so sad," she said.

For the rebuilding efforts, the trust received a little more than $300,000 from the community, Wils told WCBS 880.

"We are well underway on all the contracts to replace and fix the park, and we are mitigating wherever we can so that in another storm, damage should not be as great," she said.

Altogether, the entire five-mile Hudson River Park sustained $20 million in damage during Sandy, Wils said.

The Pier 25 Playground is located at North Moore Street. It includes a sandbox, two full swing sets, a climbing wall and boulders, and eight seasonal water features. The playground is recommended for children ages 2 to 12.

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