Do parks still have monkey bars? Or do we need to call them something else?

It is a shame that jail is glorified in a children's playground.

Let's revisit this story in a few years and see whether now that the jail theme is gone the crime and incarceration rate in this neighborhood drops.

The big story here is Why does the NY Times insist on calling the NYCHA "Nycha"???? Are they f'ing nuts?

Are they trying to tell me that jail isn't like an extended childhood? Let's see. You get to play outside with your friends every day. Check. You don't need a job or pay rent. Check. You get to sit around and watch TV. You get free food. People tell you when to eat and go to sleep. Check, check, check. Sounds pretty similar to me.

i dont understand what your point is. are you saying that going to jail is a bunch of fun?

It's sarcasm.

I took my kids to a playground today where one play structure features bars hanging vertically. They are supposed to be a sort of musical instrument and as usual the first thing my son did was run up to them grab them with both hands and shout, "I'M IN JAIL!!!"

ITS IMPORTANT TO TRAIN NIGGERS FOR JAIL SINCE MOST END UP THERE.

You're not helping.

I think there is no problem with the playground equipments theme. Kids play cops and robbers all the time. Its a big deal because it is in a "black" neighborhood. And all of them are gearing up for a lawsuit against NYC. Even if they win a nice settlement, they'll still manage to collect food stamps.

haha

I'm glad that these "community leaders" are targeting the core reason why so many young black men are in jail: jail-themed playgrounds. Thousands of inner-city kids played on this playground, and in particular participated in the "jail" part of the playground. Statistical tracking showed that 93.5% of these neighborhood children grew up to be jailed for a multitude of offenses from petty theft all the way up to homicide.

I, for one, applaud the brave work of activists and scholars such as Lumumba Bandele. Designers of children's playgrounds should be held responsible for their actions in causing the overflow of minorities in our prison system.

oh get off it. imagine what life would be like if you didnt win the lottery when you were born.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN6nNJvbw3k

Yeah, it's the whole "I got seven kids" thing I just can't get on board with. I feel for this guy. I really do. He comes across as being pretty intelligent, all things considered, but why drag seven more lives into this misery?

I assume you're insinuating that robingee won the lottery because you presume s/he is white. Is that correct? If so, I have a little story to tell you about myself (I'm white). My father was a raging alcoholic and later became extremely mentally ill. His issue was extreme paranoia. We lost touch with each other and I later found out that he had become homeless. He was murdered on the streets while he slept a few years ago. Of course this was an extremely difficult situation for me. However, I didn't use it as an excuse to live in squalor, throw my education away, or demand public support. I went on to complete my master's degree. All this despite my father's violent death and growing up so poor that we lived without running water for a time. Please remember this little story next time you presume some white person has had it so easy on account of their race. Thank you.

boogie. thanks for sharing that story. I'm glad you made it thru your hard times. I'm not suggesting race guarentees you to have an easy life or hard one.

I'm simply suggesting people have some more compassion for people. Especially when statistically we see a segement of OUR fellow citizens falling behind. Dont just cast blame, 'its their communities problem'. together as a single society we should try and save the next generation.

I rightly presume robin is white, cause the whole point of her post is to slag off the minority community.

i'm flabbergasted. "Won the lottery"? REALLY? You don't know me from a hole in the wall, but i grew up in Harlem. In the '80s. During the FUCKING crack epidemic. I had drug dealers killed on my stoop (i didn't HAVE them killed, they were killed ON my stoop). Every male member of my family was the victim of a violent crime when we were in Harlem. Stolen cars, etc etc. I could go ON AND ON AND ON.

In any case, do you SERIOUSLY think that a kids "jail" playground set is going to cause these kids to go to jail? REALLY? So you're saying that the children who grow up in this neighborhood are so stupid that since they play in a fake jail, then they're going to be criminals because that's what was expected of them? Are you kidding?

When i used to play at riverside park, there was a jungle gym(ooh racist) with a sailboat steering wheel on it. Did i grow up to be a sea captain? NO. Why? BECAUSE I WAS FUCKING PLAYING. I also played astronaut without the aid of any NYC playground. Am i an astronaut? NO. Then my buddy and i once avoided walking on the asphalt at the park, and balanced ourselves on the concrete curbs because we said the asphalt was "lava". Am i still afraid of lava? YES BECAUSE IT WILL BURN ME.

Stop using non-issues to blame scapegoats on what is going wrong with society.

lava. thats funny Papercutninja. Fine you're from Harlem, I shouldnt presume anything about you, just from your comments.

We disagree about the playset. Lets agree we want all the kids in the city to have productive and fullfilling lives. The particular things that have to be done to make that happen will be many.

Yes, i want all kids in this city to have fulfilling lives. Except yours. I hope a city bus squishes them on their first day of school.

In order to save the next generation, there needs to be a major shift in parenting in areas that experience high crime rates due to poverty. The guy in this video is a perfect example of how two screwed up lives have led to the creation of seven (most likely) screwed up lives. Currently, the focus seems to be on quantity rather than quality. Sadly, I think that many of these people think they will lose their kids to jail or death at a young age and they feel the answer is attrition. Or they're just not thinking at all. Having children, especially several of them, should rank at the bottom of the priority list for people who can barely support themselves.

That story I shared never gets easier to tell, even to a group of strangers on the internet. However, if it helps to challenge racial stereotypes of white privilege or positively impacts some kid who's suffered a similar fate, it's worth it.