Our History

In 1943, the City of New York acquired this property for the Department of Education. Soon thereafter, the city built Peter G. Van Alst Public Elementary School 171, which has a capacity for 1,361 pupils. On July 22, 1948, they drew up plans to build a jointly operated playground on the leftover land. P.S. 171 opened to students on February 5, 1952, and on October 28, 1952, the city hosted a dedication ceremony at the school, in honor of Peter Van Alst. Known as Playground 171, this facility opened on July 10, 1957. Although these grounds are officially under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education, Parks is responsible for maintaining the playground. In 1985, Parks renamed this playground Van Alst Playground.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/van-alst-playground/history