“It’s the best scenery of any playground in the city,” City Council President Steve McAllister says of the newly renovated play area in the Arnold’s Neck Waterfront Park.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at the play area at 9 a.m. on Friday and the scenery lived up to McAllister’s description. Those in attendance included, amongst others, Mayor Frank Picozzi, Councilman Steve McAllister (Ward 7), Councilman William Foley (Ward 1), and Councilman Anthony Sinapi (Ward 8). Everyone admired Apponaug Cove in the morning sunlight from the new swing set.

Using federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, Ward 7 was able to reimagine the waterfront park, adding a swing set and landscaping at the request of its community members. Each ward was allotted $200,000 from the city’s ARPA funds for neighborhood renovations, improvements, and community revitalization projects. Through an online request forum and a mailer sent to Ward 7 residents, there was an overwhelming response in favor of renovating the Arnold’s Neck park. The renovations cost $130,397 and were completed by Skurka Construction of East Greenwich.

“Councilmen know their ward best,” said Mayor Picozzi. “They’ve done a great job with the money.”

All of the city’s nine wards have varying amounts of ARPA funds still available for community improvement projects. If there is a project that could benefit a ward, there is a suggestion form on the City of Warwick website, or you can contact your ward’s City Council member directly.

For Councilman McAllister, the timeline was “the goal.” After two years of planning and budgeting, work on the park began in April. The swing set was finished just in time for the end of the school year, when children and their families can enjoy it during summer break.

In April, Councilman McAllister led the charge on an Earth Day cleanup in Arnold’s Neck, with community volunteers helping to remove debris and litter in order to “dress up the area.” He said, “We worked hard to build nice new swings, and you want the rest of the area to reflect it.”

The play area is ADA accessible, with two handicap parking spots, as well as a paved path directly from the parking spaces to the swing set area. There is also a new seating area, with a picnic table, and more seating will be delivered in the next few weeks. The swing set is built on a flat, soft surface that maximizes cleanliness by allowing rainwater to wash it down.

Councilman McAllister says the City “wants to attract people to the area,” hoping that the new infrastructure will help support other establishments in Arnold’s Neck. He hopes that after a fun morning of play, families will want to stop into the Crow’s Nest restaurant for a bite to eat. Or maybe families will also want to take their children fishing, and stop by the local bait shop, Ponaug Bait & Tackle, run by Warwick residents. Mary’s Creek, a small body of water in Arnold’s Neck, is a popular spot in the bird watching community, and watchers travel from all over the state to see unique birds.

However, although this play area provides a space for children and families to recreate on land, there are limited public access points to the water at Arnold’s Neck. The city-owned dock is in need of repairs and is currently closed, and access to the small beach is blocked off by large rocks.