Memorial Park Playground Opens For Monkey Business Friday

After months of work and delays, the makeover of Memorial Park moves forward Friday with the unveiling of a new playground. 

At 5 p.m. on Friday at the park, Mayor Joseph Tempesta, the West Caldwell Recreation Department and other local officials will open the playground for monkey business. 

"This is awesome and looks like it is going to be so much fun!" wrote Caldwells Patch user Melanie in response to an article about the playground in May. "I have an 11 year old and a 3 year old and we play there on the weekends. This is such a wonderful addition to this beautiful park area."

The new playground — which has separate jungle gyms for toddlers and for older children — includes monkey bars, slides, swings and a rock wall. The ground the playgrounds rest on is spongy and made of recycled tires, similar to the ground beneath the playground at Grover Cleveland Park. 

The playground was originally expected to be completed by Mothers Day. It is also part of a larger redesign of the park that includes the installation of lighting, bleachers, dugouts, scoreboards and a batting cage, among other things.