The neglected spray park and amphitheater in the 88th Street Park has been brought back to life after a $118,000 overhaul.
“I love it,” said local resident Gareth Shelton, who brought out his three kids, Eli, Ethan, and Evan, ages 6, 3, and 22 months, to cool off in the jet spray on a recent warm afternoon. “They just started it this summer and the kids really enjoy it. It’s great for them to come out and play in the water.”
Situated at the corner of Grand Street, the park offers a pleasant swath of greenery on a slope facing west. A basketball court overlooks the spray park. “We live nearby so this is super convenient,” said Shelton. “This whole area is a great, great neighborhood.”
The spray park is situated inside a semicircular brick structure of Coliseum-like walls, facing a tiered lawn that’s perfect for spectators.
“We used to have concerts here a number of years ago,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco. “We used to bring some of the grammar school choruses up here. And then Maurena Luzzi [and the North Bergen Players performance troupe] did a couple of shows here. But that was a while ago.”
The stage-like structure, built in the late 1980s according to Joe Rotondi, superintendent of parks, recreation, and public properties for North Bergen, always included piping for a spray park, but it never quite worked as intended.
It was Mayor Sacco who suggested the spray park be resuscitated. “We had this in place but it hadn’t been used for years,” said Parks and Public Property Commissioner Hugo Cabrera. “We had engineers look at it, come up with the newest technology, and they built this system. The whole process took us about a year.”
The new spray park at 88th Street is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Memorial Day to Labor Day.
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Kids from near and far
Crystal Umanzor, 15, a student at North Bergen High School, sat by the sidelines watching longingly as her cousins ran laughing through the fountains of water. Just out of the hospital due to a foot problem, she was unable to join them in their merriment. “I come here with my friends and family,” she said. “They live in Lodi and they visit just to come here.”
“It’s awesome,” enthused Anthony Umanzor, 9. “We have nothing like this in Lodi. We have a pool but it’s broken.”
“I love it,” agreed cousin Kimberly Campos, 11. “We’ve been coming here like a month already.”
“I’m really happy that they put it here,” said Crystal. “Because before I used to go all the way to [Braddock] Park or to West New York because I don’t have a membership from the North Bergen Pool. Now I can just come here and enjoy it. And it’s closer to my house, too.”
After the Memorial Day launch there were a few technical glitches and the water ceased flowing briefly. “We started getting call and emails from neighbors,” said Cabrera. “We came down and got it fixed and now every time I come here I see at least a couple of kids. On the weekends, forget about it.”
“The mayor is thinking of expanding National Night Out Against Crime next year and having one here,” said Police Chief Robert Dowd about the annual event that brings block parties to various sections of town. “It’s definitely a good space for it. You’ve got a little amphitheater. You could even have a concert here.”
Environmentally conscious
The system was built to maximize enjoyment for the kids while being conservative with water use. That meant including a timer that not only turns off the water automatically at 8 p.m. daily and back on again at 8 a.m., but shuts it down after five minutes of use.
A plate in the middle of the park contains a foot switch so kids can start up the water again by stomping on it. “They like hitting the foot pedal,” said Rotondi. “And it shuts off if nobody’s using it so it doesn’t waste water.”
The spray also rotates frequently between the various jets to keep the kids entertained and active.
Part of the reason it took a year to complete was because initial bids were too high for construction. After two rounds of bids were rejected by the township, they elected to go with Vortex Aquatic Structures International Inc., a Canada-based company that has been building spray parks for many years.
Construction entailed replacing the older pipes that ran up the rear of the brick structure and covering them with heavy-duty steel plates. The ground was ripped up and the new activator switch and drainage were installed, tying into the existing system.
“It’s similar to the spray park down at the North Bergen Pool,” said Rotondi. “Except the North Bergen Pool has a filtration system. This one, the water goes directly into a storm drain according to federal regulations.”
Another part of the project included building decorative fencing to separate the spray park from the dog run just below it.
“I didn’t even know this was here,” said Angie Hernandez, who was dragged to the park by the three kids she was watching over for the summer. “I used to come here but I started working and I’m away for college so I’m not really around anymore.”
Watching from the grassy knoll as her three charges cavorted in the spray, kicking around a soccer ball and yelling happily, she declined to get wet herself. “I’d rather just look at them,” she said.
Ten minutes later, she was running through the spray with them, laughing and splashing.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.