Vleigh Playground

Public park in Queens, New York

Vleigh Playground is a 2.243-acre park in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, New York City. It takes its name from Head of the Vleigh Road, a colonial period path that ran along the northern boundary of the playground site. This path is presently followed by Vleigh Place and 70th Road. This road connected the town of Flushing to Brooklyn during colonial times, allowing travelers to circumvent Flushing Meadows, then an impassible swamp.

Its name is derived from the Dutch word vlaie (also spelled vlie, meaning "swamp" or "valley") in reference to Flushing Meadows.

Prior to the mid-20th century, much of Kew Gardens Hills was farmland owned by the Campbell, Jackson and Miller families. In the early 20th century, some of the farms were purchased by the Arrowbrook and Pomonok golf clubs that capitalized on the hilly terrain and scenic views.

With the extension of the Independent Subway System's Queens Boulevard line to Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station in 1936, which promised a 20-minute ride into Manhattan, Kew Gardens Hills became more attractive to developers. Entrepreneur Abraham Wolosoff purchased land in the area hoping to use its hills and rural setting to attract residents. The developer gave the neighborhood its current name, Kew Gardens Hills, after the nearby Kew Gardens neighborhood.

With residential construction increasing following the Second World War, there was demand for a new school in Kew Gardens Hills. Recognizing the quickening loss of open space, the City’s Board of Estimate voted to acquire this remaining undeveloped parcel for a school and playground. The city acquired the land for this playground in 1949 through condemnation. It opened in on January 15, 1952 as the PS 165 Playground.[1]

The adjacent school, PS 165 is co-named after Edith K. Bergtraum (1918-1994) a teacher and member of the New York City Commission on the Status of Women.[2] Her husband Murry Bergtraum. Murry Bergtraum served as president of the New York City Board of Education from 1969 until his death in 1973. The co-naming was sponsored by Rep. Gary Ackerman in 1995.[3]

Surrounded by the apartment complexes of Dara Gardens, Georgetown Mews and Pomonok Houses, the Vleigh Playground offers much needed playing space for the neighborhood’s children.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Playground Opened in Queens". The New York Times. 1952-01-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
2. ^ "Edith K. Bergtraum; Elementary Teacher, 76". The New York Times. 1994-06-02. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
3. ^ "Rep. Gary Ackerman: Naming P.S. 165 the Edith K. Bergtraum School". Congressional Record. 141 (82). 1995-05-17. Retrieved January 23, 2020.

## External links[edit]

* Vleigh Playground -- New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of New York City

Federal

| National Historic Sites|

* Lower East Side Tenement Museum
* Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

|

National monuments
and memorials|

* African Burial Ground
* Castle Clinton
* Federal Hall
* General Grant
* Governors Island
* Hamilton Grange
* Statue of Liberty
* Stonewall

National recreation areas|

* Gateway National Recreation Area - Jamaica Bay
* Floyd Bennett Field
* Fort Tilden
* Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
* Jacob Riis
* Gateway National Recreation Area - Staten Island
* Fort Wadsworth
* Great Kills
* Hoffman Island
* Miller Field
* Swinburne Island

State

| State Parks|

* Bayswater Point
* Clay Pit Ponds
* Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms
* Gantry Plaza
* Marsha P. Johnson
* Riverbank
* Roberto Clemente
* Shirley Chisholm

|

State recreation lands|

* Mount Loretto Unique Area
* Udalls Cove

City parks and preserves

| Manhattan|

* 79th Street Boat Basin
* Abingdon Square
* Albert Capsouto
* Asphalt Green
* Asser Levy
* Battery
* Bella Abzug (Hudson)
* Bellevue South
* Bennett
* British Garden at Hanover Square
* Bowling Green
* Bryant
* Captain Patrick J. Brown Walk
* Carl Schurz
* Central
* Diana Ross Playground
* Great Lawn Rec Center
* Heckscher Playground
* North Meadow Rec Center
* Chelsea
* City Hall
* Coleman Playground
* Collect
* Columbus
* Corlears Hook
* Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
* Damrosch
* Dante
* DeSalvio Playground
* DeWitt Clinton
* Drumgoole Plaza
* Duane
* East River Greenway
* East River Esplanade
* East River
* Pier 42
* Stuyvesant Cove
* Elizabeth H. Berger Plaza
* Father Demo Square
* Finn Square
* Foley Square
* Fort Tryon
* Fort Washington
* Gorman
* Governors Island
* Gramercy
* Greenacre
* Hamilton Fish
* Hanover Square
* Harlem River
* Hell's Kitchen
* Herald Square
* High Line
* Highbridge
* Fort George Seating Area
* Holcombe Rucker
* Hudson River
* Ilka Tanya Payán
* Imagination Playground
* Inwood Hill
* Isham
* J. Hood Wright
* Jackie Robinson
* Jackson Square
* John Jay
* Liberty
* Little Island
* Louis Cuvillier
* Madison Square
* Manhattan Waterfront Greenway
* MacArthur
* Marcus Garvey
* McKenna Square
* Millennium
* Mill Rock
* Mitchell Square
* Montefiore Square
* Morningside
* Murphy's Brother's Playground
* Muscota Marsh
* Open Road
* Paley
* Peretz Square
* Peter Cooper
* Peter Detmold
* Plaza Lafayette
* Queen Elizabeth II September 11th Garden
* Ralph Bunche
* Randalls Island
* Richard Tucker Square
* Riverside
* Robert Moses Playground
* Roosevelt Triangle
* Rucker
* Sakura
* Samuel N. Bennerson 2nd Playground
* Sara Delano Roosevelt
* Septuagesimo Uno
* Seward
* Sheridan Square
* Sherman Square
* Spring Street
* St. John's
* St. Nicholas
* St. Vartan
* Straus
* Stuyvesant Square
* Swindler Cove
* Teardrop
* Theodore Roosevelt
* Thomas Jefferson
* Thomas Paine
* Tompkins Square
* Tribeca
* Trygve Lie
* Union Square
* Verdi Square
* Vesuvio Playground
* Vietnam Veterans Plaza
* Vincent F. Albano Jr.
* Wagner
* Wards Island
* Washington Market
* Washington Square
* West Side Community Garden
* William A. Harris Garden
* Winston Churchill Square
* Zuccotti

|

The Bronx|

| East Bronx|

* Bicentennial Veterans
* Castle Hill
* City Island Wetlands
* Ferry Point
* Givans Creek Woods
* Haffen
* Harding
* Hart Island
* Magenta Playground
* Pelham Bay
* Hunter Island
* Orchard Beach
* Rodman's Neck
* Pelham Parkway
* Pugsley Creek
* Richman
* Seton Falls
* Seton
* Soundview
* Starlight

|

West Bronx|

* Aqueduct Walk
* Bridge
* Bronx
* Bronx Skate Park
* Devoe
* Ewen
* Harris
* Henry Hudson
* Jerome
* Mosholu Parkway
* Poe
* Raoul Wallenberg Forest
* Riverdale
* Spuyten Duyvil Shorefront
* St. James
* University Woods
* Van Cortlandt
* Vidalia
* Vinmont Veteran
* Washington's Walk
* Williamsbridge Oval

South Bronx|

* Baretto Point
* Bill Rainey
* Carlos J. Lozada Playground
* Claremont
* Concrete Plant
* Crotona
* Estella Diggs
* Grant
* Hunts Point Riverside
* Joseph Rodman Drake
* Joyce Kilmer
* Julius Richman
* Macombs Dam
* Mill Pond
* Mullaly
* North and South Brother Islands
* Playground 52
* Printer's
* Richman
* St. Mary's
* Taqwa Community Farm
* Tremont

Brooklyn|

* Alben Square
* American Veterans Memorial Pier
* Amersfort
* Anthony Catanzaro Square
* Asser Levy
* Ascenzi Square
* Bath Beach
* Betsy Head
* Bensonhurst
* Bocchino-Dente Memorial Plaza
* Breukelen Ballfields
* Brooklyn Bridge
* Brooklyn Heights Promenade
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway
* Brower
* Bushwick
* Byrne
* Cadman Plaza
* Canarsie
* Carroll
* Calvert Vaux
* Chief Charles A. Joshua Plaza
* City Line
* Coffey
* Columbus
* Commodore Barry
* Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk
* Coney Island Creek
* Coney Island Cyclone
* Continental Army Plaza
* Cooper
* Domino
* Dyker Beach
* Eastern Parkway
* Fort Greene
* Four Sparrow Marsh
* Frank M. Charles
* Fresh Creek Nature Preserve
* Friends Field
* Fulton
* Golconda Skate Park
* Gravesend
* Green Central Knoll
* Herbert Von King
* Highland
* Irving Square
* JJ Byrne
* Jamaica Bay
* John J. Carty
* John Paul Jones
* Kaiser
* Kelly
* Leif Ericson
* Leon S. Kaiser Playground
* Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino
* Lincoln Terrace
* Linden
* Lindower
* Linton
* Macri Triangle
* Manhattan Beach
* Maria Hernandez
* Marine
* McCarren
* McGolrick
* McKinley
* Mt. Prospect
* Nellie Bly
* Ocean Parkway
* Owl's Head
* Paerdegat Basin
* Paerdegat
* Prospect
* Red Hook
* Robert E. Venable
* Russell D. Ramsey Triangle
* Saratoga
* Scarangella
* Seaside
* Seth Low
* Shore
* Spring Creek
* Steeplechase
* Sternberg
* St. Johns
* Sunset
* Tompkins
* Trinity
* Van Voorhees
* Walt Whitman
* Wingate
* WNYC Transmitter
* Zion Triangle

Queens|

* Admiral
* Alley Pond
* Andrews Grove
* Astoria
* Baisley Pond
* Bayside Fields
* Bayswater
* Beach Channel
* Big Bush
* Bowne
* Brant Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Breininger
* Broad Channel American
* Broad Channel
* Broad Channel Wetlands
* Brooklyn–Queens Greenway
* Brookville
* Bulova
* Captain Tilly
* Catholic War Veterans Triangle
* Chris Postiglione Triangle
* College Point Fields
* Crocheron
* Cunningham
* Det. Keith L. Williams
* Det. William T. Gunn
* Dr. Charles R. Drew
* Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary
* Doughboy
* Douglaston
* Elmhurst
* Evergreen
* Far Rockaway Skate Park
* Feehan Triangle
* Flushing Fields
* Flushing Meadows-Corona
* Foch Sitting Area
* Forest
* Fort Tilden
* Fort Totten
* Francis Lewis
* Frank Golden
* Frank Principe
* Haggerty
* Harvey
* Highland
* Hillcrest Veterans Square
* Hinton
* Hoffman
* Hook Creek
* Hunter's Point
* Idlewild
* Jamaica Bay
* John Golden
* Judge Moses Weinstein Playground
* Juniper Valley
* Kissena
* Kohlreiter Square
* Kopytko Triangle
* Libra Triangle
* Linden
* Linnaeus
* Little Bay
* LoCicero Triangle
* Louis Pasteur
* Lynch Triangle
* Mafera
* Macneil
* Marconi
* Marie Curie
* Montbellier
* O'Donohue
* One Room Schoolhouse
* Overlook
* Park of the Americas
* Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto
* Playground Seventy Five
* Ofc. Edward Byrne
* Powell's Cove
* Proctor-Hopson Circle
* Queens County Farm Museum
* Queensbridge
* Rachel Carson
* Railroad
* Ralph Demarco
* Remsen Cemetery
* Rochdale
* Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk
* Rockaway Community
* Roy Wilkins
* Rufus King
* Seagirt Avenue Wetlands
* Socrates Sculpture
* Spring Creek
* Springfield
* St. Albans
* Travers
* Travis Triangle
* Triangle 54
* Tribute
* Tudor
* Turtle Playground
* Underbridge Dog Run
* Vleigh Playground
* Walter J. Wetzel Triangle
* Wayanda

Staten Island|

| North Shore
(Community District 1)|

* Allison Pond
* Austen House
* Buono Beach
* Barrett
* Clove Lakes
* Clove's Tail
* Corporal Thompson
* Eibs Pond
* Faber
* Forest Grove
* Fort Hill
* Gaeta
* Graniteville Quarry
* Graniteville Swamp
* Hero
* Ingram Woods
* Jones Woods
* Joseph Manna
* Maple Woods
* Northerleigh
* Richmond Terrace Wetlands
* Sailors' Snug Harbor
* Shooters Island
* Silver Lake
* Sobel Court
* Tappen
* Tompkinsville
* Von Briesen
* Walker
* Westerleigh

|

Mid-Island
(Community District 2)|

* Blood Root Valley
* Bradys Pond
* Deere
* Father Macris
* FDR Boardwalk
* Gen. MacArthur
* High Rock
* Last Chance
* Midland Field
* Ocean Breeze
* Old Place Creek
* Prall's Island
* Saw Mill Creek Marsh
* Schmul
* South Beach Wetlands
* St. George
* Staten Island Industrial
* Westwood
* Willowbrook

Mid-Island & South Shore
(Community Districts 2 & 3)|

* Freshkills
* LaTourette
* Meredith Woods
* William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge

South Shore
(Community District 3)|

* Aesop
* Amundsen Circle
* Annadale
* Arbutus Woods
* Arden Woods
* Bayview Terrace
* Bloomingdale
* Blue Heron
* Blueberry
* Bunker Ponds
* Carlton
* Conference House
* Crescent Beach
* Fairview
* Great Kills
* Huguenot Ponds
* Hybrid Oak Woods
* Isle of Meadows
* King Fisher
* Kingdom Pond
* Lemon Creek
* Long Pond
* Olmstead-Beil House
* Reed's Basket Willow Swamp
* Seaside Wildlife Nature
* Siedenburg
* Tottenville Shore
* Wegener
* Wolfe's Pond

Other

| Nature centers|

* Alley Pond
* Belvedere Castle
* Blue Heron
* Crotona
* Dana Discovery Center
* Forest
* Fort Greene
* Fort Totten
* Greenbelt
* High Rock
* Inwood Hill
* Orchard Beach
* Prospect
* Salt Marsh
* Van Cortlandt

|

Zoos|

* Bronx
* Central Park
* Prospect Park
* Queens
* Staten Island

Botanical gardens|

* Brooklyn Botanic
* Conservatory
* New York Botanical
* Queens Botanical
* Staten Island Botanical
* New York Chinese Scholar's
* Wave Hill

Roosevelt Island|

* Lighthouse
* Southpoint

Other lists|

* World War I-related parks
* Vietnam War-related parks
* Hispanic and Latino-related parks

* Category
* Department of Parks and Recreation
* New York State
* Commons

40°43′46″N 73°49′01″W﻿ / ﻿40.729407°N 73.817060°W﻿ / 40.729407; -73.817060
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template