Newburgh playground plan advances after Delano-Hitch Park closure
Newburgh’s Delano-Hitch Park has spent more than a year without playground equipment as a six-zone redesign moves toward a June grant deadline.
A six-zone playground plan moved forward at Delano-Hitch Recreation Park after Rose Harvey brought the proposal to the Newburgh City Council on May 7 and asked for a letter of support, a step meant to restore play space to a park that has gone more than a year without equipment after the city removed the old structures over safety concerns.
The stakes reach beyond a single play area. Delano-Hitch is a 27-acre city park at 401 Washington Street, donated in 1916 by Annie Delano-Hitch, aunt of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and city park pages list it as one of Newburgh’s major recreation hubs. The site includes a baseball stadium, skate park, outdoor fitness park, bocce courts, three basketball courts, an Aquatic Center, two playgrounds, horseshoe pitches, a soccer and football field, the Fast Pitch Softball Hall of Fame and an Activity Center. For nearby families, the missing equipment means one less trusted place for children to play in a neighborhood park that already serves as a broad public gathering space.
New City Parks, the nonprofit behind the design work, is partnering with Newburgh Plays, a local group of parents and community members, on the project. Harvey, the organization’s founder and executive director, has said the proposal would spread six coordinated play zones across about 1.2 acres, arranged around a central plaza. The site plan places the Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center next door, making the playground part of a larger recreation campus rather than an isolated set of swings and slides.
Community input was built into the process before the design is finalized. Newburgh Plays held a listening day on May 20 with separate sessions for families with toddlers and young children, older children and an evening open session at the park. Residents who could not attend were invited to submit an online survey. The campaign also said it sought concepts from three of the country’s top playground manufacturers before settling on a direction.
The timing now hinges on funding. Newburgh Playgrounds says the Delano-Hitch project is tied to a $2.5 million New York State PLAYS grant application due June 15, with award announcements expected in August. The group has identified Delano-Hitch as the first and highest-priority site in a wider city playground vision, while the City of Newburgh Department of Parks and Recreation says it works with the Department of Public Works to maintain parks, playgrounds and facilities across the city.
That broader campus has become more active even as the playground work advances. The Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center, described by the city as a $15 million community facility completed at no direct cost to local taxpayers, opened for the 2026 summer season on May 22 at 8 a.m. The new pool activity has put fresh attention on a park system that is trying to replace lost play space with something safer, more intentional and built to last.
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