Construction Updates

Groundbreaking: June 28, 2020

The ground has been broken and the building of Emmet's Playground has begun! Although it was a very hot day, about 100+ of our family and friends gathered for this bittersweet occasion. Everyone wore a mask and kept social distance, as we heard from Rabbi Hammerman, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Cousin Charlie Staub and then from Jeff and me. Cousin Oliver did the first "dig" and we look forward to even bigger digging as this playground comes to life.

Below is the speech that Jeff and I wrote, marking this important moment which will cement Emmet's legacy for anyone who comes to visit the playground.

First of all, thank you to everyone who is here today and everyone who may be watching on Facebook Live. We imagined this as a community event and it feels like it is, even if we couldn’t have everyone here. Thank you to those who spoke before us. Rabbi Hammerman, as always, your words are warm and meaningful. Emmet loved being here, in large part because you’ve always made Temple Beth El a warm and inviting place for kids. Senator Blumenthal, thank you for taking time out of your hectic schedule to be here. Emmet was proud to call you his friend, from the first time he greeted you at High Holiday services when he was four. You asked him his name and he said “Emmet.” He asked you your name and you said “Richard.” He responded with “Hi, Rich!” And Charlie, thank you for representing all the kids with your words. You, along with your mom, dad, and Oliver, have been beacons in this storm for us since the moment we came home from the hospital. You exemplify what family is all about.

It has been 9 months since Emmet left us. It is still hard for us to believe. We literally miss him every second of every day. Building this playground has given us some purpose these last 9 months as we learn to live in this new normal. We thank you all for bearing with the frequent updates, Facebook posts, Bingo games, and other calls to action.

We wanted to create something that would have Emmet’s imprint, something that we know HE would’ve loved. An amusement park seemed a little far-fetched, but a playground seemed perfect. Emmet spent a lot of time on playgrounds throughout his life, begging us to push him high on the swings or practice the monkey bars until he could make it all the way across. Most of all, we wanted to create something that caused the laughter and screams of delight that marked Emmet’s time on playgrounds. Yes, a playground was perfect, especially at Temple Beth El, where Emmet could hear that laughter from where he rests a few hundred feet from here.

To build a playground, we needed two things: a lot of money and a vision.

We were concerned about the fundraising. After some initial research, it became clear that we needed to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars. Neither of us have a fundraising background so we didn’t know exactly how that would go.

We needn’t have worried.

Our family, friends, and community wanted to see this playground happen as much as we did. With each Facebook post or personal appeal, there you all were. You should know that each donation, whether it was $25 or $5000 felt like a giant embrace. It showed us that we weren’t alone in missing Emmet.This playground is a place that was created out of love: love for our little boy, love for us, and the love of places where joy and laughter are always present. We know, as adults, that those places are not always easy to find. For those who loved him, this playground will be a spot to go and sit and feel close to Emmet. And hopefully years from now, these kids will bring their own kids and tell them about their friend Emmet.

There is one special person who helped to fundraise for Emmet’s Playground in a way we will never forget. Hannah Priamo was in the room three doors down from Emmet at Boston Children’s Hospital. She was 20 and she made Emmet feel pretty special. They played cards together and chatted in the hallways and he made her an origami bird when she was discharged, a sign that he really liked her. Though she left the hospital, she checked on Emmet frequently and sent him Mancala and a very cool Simpsons T-shirt. When he died, she made us a big gift basket, not telling us that her own cancer had returned. Last December, Hannah died after two battles of leukemia. This beautiful warrior, before she died, told all her friends and family that she wanted any memorial gifts directed to Emmet’s Playground. There will be a special statue on the Playground dedicated to our sweet friend Hannah, the last friend Emmet ever made. Her dad Paul is here today, with his wife Johanne.

About these kids…

Charlie talked about the Kids Advisory Board and how they helped envision the playground. They drew layouts, they chose much of the equipment we ordered, and they thought about ways to infuse the playground with Emmet’s passions: skateboarding, camp, baseball, and of course, roller coasters. Many parents of these kids told us how being on the committee helped their kids deal with Emmet’s passing. But it helped us more. We loved being in a room with Emmet’s friends, watching the energy and purpose they brought to this project, and mostly just seeing and hearing about how much they all loved Emmet. It warmed our hearts and we are honored to have all those kids here today. (lisa)

While we have a great group of kids, we also have a wonderful team of grown-ups who have helped us get to this point more swiftly than we could’ve imagined. Rick Redniss and his team of engineers have brought their brilliance to this project, ensuring that it will be a safe and stable place for kids to play. Sylvan Pomerantz is our project manager and good friend who is guiding us through the more technical aspects of building a playground. Matt Leshetz is our playground consultant, best of friends, and one of Emmet’s favorite people in the world. John Hollerback, from Miracle Recreation, has helped us take the vision of the playground and bring it to life. He’s been intent on making sure that Emmet’s unique stamp is present. And a shout out to everyone at Power Play (Bryan Yeazal and team) who have given such special attention to this project. Steve Lander, we can’t thank you and Linda enough for all the extra time you have spent processing donations, reviewing contracts, going to playground meetings and paying attention to the details.

Kids, you have been given small origami envelopes. Inside each one is a monarch butterfly that they will release on the word “playground.” Simply squeeze the sides of the envelope to make it open and the butterfly will emerge. Old Native American legend believes that butterflies bring wishes to heaven. We also believe that maybe these butterflies bring messages to heaven. Kids, when you release your butterfly, make a wish or maybe send a message to Emmet, who I know is looking down at us and smiling, maybe even belly laughing.

OK 1, 2, 3….Playground!

Then, Cousin Oliver will do the first dig of Emmet’s Playground, officially launching this incredible project. OK….let’s count him down. 3, 2, 1….let’s go!

May 29, 2020

The playground has been approved by the city of Stamford! Let the building begin!

The next step is to hire an excavator to prep the land for the playground. This includes tree removal, drainage of the land (which turned out to be a bigger issue than we'd thought) and grading the land. We are currently gathering bids for this part of the project.

As we do that, Jeff and I are starting to think about a groundbreaking ceremony. We definitely want kids to be a part of it and are figuring out how to do this while being safe and socially distant. Likely, this will happen the end of June and we will keep you posted on our plans.

In the meantime, here are some color renderings that show the playground in a fuller picture. We hope that you'll see a "campy" theme, with the tops of the main structure designed to look like a camp cabin and the natural colors of the equipment that blends with the natural beauty of the land behind Temple Beth El. And of course, the roller coasters flow throughout the space, from the "tracks" on the rubber surfacing to the roller coaster "cars" on the see-saw type piece to the piece de resistance of the playground: the gravity rail. It is a separate structure that spans the width of the playground and functions like a swing zipline. This was the most roller-coastery type of of playground equipment we'd ever seen and we know Emmet would've absolutely loved it. Emmet's friends on the Kids' Committee loved it too, and we know it will be a big hit.

We are hoping to have a ribbon-cutting sometime in September.

4/15

Here are some "sneak peeks" at the playground design. We are delighted to be working with Miracle Recreation. They are at the cutting edge of playground design and have been working with us to infuse this playground with personal "Emmet" touches (which we will reveal in due time!)

In terms of construction, we are actually somewhat on track. We just had a meeting with the Planning Board, where they unanimously approved construction of the playground. Our next hearing is May 13, with the Zoning Board. Everything seems as though it's cool and moving forward, and we have Rick Redniss and his company Redniss&Mead to thank. They have been wonderful to work with, and Rick has been very generous with his time and talents. Our goal is still to break ground sometime in late June and, fingers crossed, will be able to have our grand opening by September.