Playgrounds and Jungle gyms have undergone drastic changes since yours truly was able to play in them without suspicious looks from concerned mothers. This particular example in Long Island City made me giggle.
This looks to me like some kind of beginner rock-climbing thing. Did the playground designers imagine kids wearing junior climbing gear, coating their hands with Johnson’s Baby Powder to give them a better grip for the trecherous feat?
Do the parents in this newly gentrified LIC neighborhood encourage their spawn to “rock climb” at the playground? Do they hope their kid will someday grow up and climb the “real” wall at the $100-a-month gym? No. The parents don’t even know about their kid’s extreme sports adventures. Whenever I’ve passed by, its just been bored kids with chatty nannies.