The problem with the heat of the metal domes has been a danger in the playground since it opened in April. Park officials tried to respond by putting up festival tents that could keep sunlight from raising the structures’ surface temperature. But the tent solution never really worked since they have to be moved throughout the day, as the sun moves, and often still don’t cover the entirety of each orb. And Wednesday morning, the sunlight was hitting the domes, so when a baby girl touched one, it left her hands blistered, sources said. Another child was also burned earlier in the day, but not as badly.
I’m still not sure how these were greenlighted in the first place. With so much money and time put into the new park, you’d think someone would have some experience in, you know, playground equipment and basic science. And here’s a little tidbit for you: there’s another, similar dome in Union Square Park–designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh, the same architect. It’s bigger (called “The Mountain”) and was covered up in May, but there’s no plans to remove it.




I am so relieved that they are going to replace them- I hope it won’t take the NY bureaucracy too long to do it either.
[...] via Brooklyn Heights BlogWe knew they were taking down the metal domes at Pier 1, but we didn’t know they’d be replacing them so quickly. As you can see, this [...]