The
Ranaqua complex, the Bronx
headquarters of the Department of Parks & Recreation of the City of New
York, built by the WPA in 1939. Parks Department employees work here in
offices, warehouses, and workshops serving the City's parks and playgrounds.
Robert Moses said on August 18, 1943, towards the end of the New Deal, "In
1934 there were 119 playgrounds in the five boroughs, 67 of which have been
reconstructed. [now there are] 438 playgrounds in the park system."
Although many new parks and playgrounds have been constructed in 72 years
since the New Deal ended, it is still the case that a significant proportion
of New York City's parkland and of its playgrounds (and public swimming
pools) was created by the New Deal, and of those who work in those parks,
playgrounds, and pools, that same proportion owe their jobs to the New
Deal.