There are so many rats in this park, you can hear them scurrying around in the woods over the sound of BQE traffic. But there is rarely anyone here and so it’s the perfect place for a private playground.
I first took my kid here one night when he was just starting to play on the climbing equipment. He was amused that I’d taken him someplace new.
It’s very convenient to the Birria Taco truck that parks on Metropolitan and Meeker Ave and I’ve eaten tacos here while the baby plays more.
There are weirdos who hang out here too but they’ve never bothered us. They seem mostly to sit quietly by themselves away from the actual playground.
We don’t come here too often because the space feels really marginalized—not unsafe, but not welcoming either. There's heavy traffic all around the park, both from the BQE and from Metropolitan Avenue. Plus the rats. You can hear them.
Named for Jaime Campiz, a Puerto Rican-born baseball player who played in the Crotona Park League of the Bronx, the playground was founded in 1949.
