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CITY RECREATION

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Katie, Erin, Emma and Ryan Murphy were among the first children to utilize the new playground at Coal Street Park on Thursday, and deservedly so.

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J.J. Murphy of the GOALS Foundation cuts the ribbon for the opening of the Coal Street Playground as Wilkes-Barre Mayor Thomas Leighton, far right, watches.

Don Carey / Times Leader photo

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Their father, city administrator J.J. Murphy, founded the GOALS Foundation in 2001, and eight years later the group provided most of the funding to build the $220,000 playground.

Murphy, his wife, Colleen, his four children and his father, Jack, were on hand for the dedication of the playground that is part of the $14 million renovation of Coal Street Park. Murphy cut the ribbon as his boss, Mayor Tom Leighton, looked on.

“This is the culmination of an eight-year dream for me,” Murphy said. “We formed the foundation to help youth sports and to make them more affordable for kids of all ages.”

Murphy, with emotion in his voice and tears in his eyes, thanked his family for their support as he toiled for the foundation and the playground.

“I want to applaud J.J. for his dedication to this fantastic community project,” Leighton said to a crowd of onlookers. “This beautiful playground replaces slum and blight that was here for far too long.”

With children playing in the background, Murphy and Leighton thanked representatives of the law firm Hourigan Kluger and Quinn and the Luzerne Foundation for partnering with the GOALS Foundation and the city to build the playground.

Attorney Michelle Quinn said her law firm paid for a safety study to ensure the equipment and materials used for the playground were the safest.

“Playground injuries have increased significantly over the years,” she said. “We wanted to make sure any injuries here are minimal. That’s why we brought in a safety expert to conduct the study.”

Murphy said the GOALS Foundation gave around $173,000 for the project. He said the city secured a grant for $7,500. The balance came from the Luzerne Foundation.

Murphy presented a check for $5,000 to the South Wilkes-Barre Teeners’ League. The league raised money to match the GOALS donation, he said. The league’s vice president, Nick Marino Jr., said the money will be used to buy batting cages for Christian Field along Gordon Avenue and dugouts will get an upgrade.

The playground is handicap-accessible and is one of the many new public features at Coal Street Park. The city began comprehensive renovations at the 31-acre park in the fall of 2008.

The project includes the construction of a new 500-seat ice rink, training facilities and office space. The rink, which will open to the public this fall, will offer opportunities for the public to ice skate, as well as to participate in organized youth and adult ice hockey leagues, tournaments and sports camps.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will use the ice rink as a practice facility and the team’s corporate offices will be housed in a new two-story building to be built next door.

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.