Danger Domes are Gone at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1

By on June 30, 2010 7:45 am in Brooklyn Heights

The NY Times City Room reports that the expensive and dangerous steel domes have been removed from Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Pier 1 playground.

NY Times City Room: The $84,000 domes were installed at the toddler playground in March.  But within a week of their unveiling, parents reported that their children were burning their hands on them  – and screaming out in pain. The domes were initially covered with tents to protect them from the sun. Park officials said trees would eventually fill in, creating enough shade. But word spread quickly on Brooklyn parent blogs to avoid them.

The domes were made by Urban Design Berlin, a Germany company that says it makes stylish and untraditional play equipment. The domes met national and international play structure safety standards.

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  • Publius

    $84,000.00 wasted, and an undisclosed amount spent on replacement fixtures (likely about as much).

    Will the Starchitect replace the approximately $150,000.00+ mistake out of the $18,000,000.00+ fee his firm earned? Or will the taxpayer suffer so the Starchitect firm can learn on the job?

  • my2cents

    The important piece of info here though is that these domes were designed by a company that specializes in playground equipment, not by the park designer as many have charged. Also they met international standards for safety. So what I mean is that people should stop placing all the blame on the park’s designer, though obviously someone should have questioned the heat issue when choosing these domes.

  • ABC

    Since the designer didn’t design the domes, I think they should admit they fell down on the one thing they were supposed to do: site the domes. You mean you can’t put metal in full sun? A shade sail would have been a cheap fix.

    Any read the NYer piece? Seems this architect used these same domes and a big spinning toy — both purchased from a german manufacturer — in another park. I know the developers did a lot of traveling for research. Sounds like a nice job to me — travel the world, find a german playground you like, and lift their components. (Head to forehead) “If only I thought about adding TREES!” Also, those playground have paid staff to watch to mind unruly kids/parents. Now THAT’S an idea I could get behind.

  • nabeguy

    In case anyone is interested:

    http://www.urbandesignberlin.com/

    Hmmm. Fireballs? Odd name choice. And you’ve got to wonder if they ran the Pin Tail “air-board” by their liability insurance underwriter for approval.

  • http://deleted Anon

    Another debacle in the long list of failures. The money wasted is incredible and still no year round recreation. And more housing on the way. What a x#$! mess.

  • yd

    From the dome instruction manual: The DOME can be used as
    a climber or a slide. It is recommended to install at a location, where there is shade at noon and
    afternoon.

  • Ben

    The sun gets hot, the steel heats up, skin gets burned. How could this have happened? What dope allowed this to happen? How is the young child who was burned doing? I think about that poor innocent child being burned and it upsets me.