Skoufis secures $205,000 for new Chester Commons playground equipment

Children at Chester Commons Park are set to get a new playground after State Sen. James Skoufis secured $205,000 to replace equipment that is now more than 25 years old. Chester says the new play area will be state-of-the-art, ADA-accessible, and built for children from toddlers to preteens, with the goal of having it open by the start of summer 2027.

The upgrade matters because Chester Commons, at 81 La Roe Rd. in Chester, is one of the town’s central public spaces. The town lists a pavilion, soccer and football field with bleachers, practice field, playground and swing set, walking path, library storywalk, EV charging stations, senior exercise equipment and a public bathroom at the site, and says the park is used for pavilion and ball-field permits and year-round Parks and Recreation activities.

Skoufis framed the funding as a public safety and quality-of-life issue, saying, “Ensuring our community’s kids have safe and fun places to play outdoors has always been a priority for me.” Holdridge called the grant “vital to getting this project off the ground” and said his board had promised residents and children that it would invest in town parks. The money gives Chester a path to replace aging equipment instead of continuing to patch it year after year.

The playground replacement also fits Chester’s long-term planning. The town’s comprehensive plan materials specifically call for improvement or replacement of playground equipment at Chester Commons Park, while state officials have been pushing similar projects statewide through NY PLAYS, a $67.5 million playground grant effort announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Jan. 6, 2026. New York State Parks says its grant programs include playground funding designed to improve recreation and quality of life, and Chester has already been layering in other park and access projects, including field and lighting work at Chester Commons and separate pedestrian and walkway improvements tied to Sugar Loaf.