Construction is finished on the $6.9 million reconstruction of Corporal Louis Zimmerman Playground, a 0.97-acre public park at 650 Britton Street in Allerton, The Bronx. Completed by NYC Parks through its Community Parks Initiative for underserved neighborhoods, the project reconstructed the playground from the ground up and unified a site split across two disconnected levels into a single ADA-accessible layout. The grounds now include play equipment, a spray shower, a synthetic turf field, two basketball courts, and adult fitness equipment.
Zimmerman Playground, via NYC Parks.
Work began in October 2025, according to the Bronx Borough President’s office. New ADA-compliant ramps now connect the upper and lower levels, resolving accessibility gaps that had long separated the playground’s play areas.
On the upper level, new play equipment and safety surfacing replaced outdated fixtures, alongside swings for all ages and abilities, the spray shower, and shaded seating. The resurfaced handball wall carries a colorful mural.
Zimmerman Playground, via NYC Parks.
The lower level features a synthetic turf field, built for sports, movie nights, and community events. Two basketball courts, one full-size and one junior-size, replaced the site’s single court, with adult fitness equipment nearby. Seating includes bleachers, picnic tables, and benches, among them a dedicated area at the corner of Britton Street and Barker Avenue built for the community’s bingo nights. New water service brought a bottle-filling station and drinking fountains, brick and stone veneer walls were reconstructed along the perimeter, interior fencing was reduced to improve sightlines, and shade trees were planted along the sidewalks and around the field.
NYC Parks acquired the property in 1931 with money from the War Memorial Fund, and the playground opened on July 15, 1934 as one of nine War Memorial Playgrounds dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia to New Yorkers killed in the First World War. Its namesake, Corporal Louis Zimmerman, was an NYPD police officer and Bronx resident who served with Headquarters Company, 305th Infantry, 77th Division, and was killed in action on November 5, 1918, six days before the Armistice. The playground was last renovated in 1996 and 1997.
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