As everyone now knows, modernist playgrounds are the new hotness.

And as everyone who knows modernist playgrounds knows, during the Robert Moses era, the New York Parks Department suffocated many a sweet modern playground proposal in its crib. Creative Playthings and MoMA's proposals for artist-designed play sculptures in Central Park? Killed'em. Isamu Noguchi's amazing-looking playground in Riverside Park? Ditto.

It may have taken 45 years, but the city seems ready to start making up for its mistakes. Gothamist reports that architect Frank Gehry will build a 1-acre playground at The Battery, the historic park at the lower tip of Manhattan ["The Bronx is up/And the Battery's down"] which is undergoing a major renovation.

The full design will be released later this year, the city did release one playground feature to get people excited: a "green comfort station" with vegetal walls and roof. Uh-huh. I already know how to pee in the bushes, Frank; just make sure there's a changing table in the men's room and that the curvy metal panels don't fry my kid's backside.

Frank Gehry Designs His First Playground for NYC [gothamist.com via dt reader julia]
image: The Battery Rebuilt: Master Plan [thebattery.org]
Previously: The 5-min, 100-yr history of NYC playgrounds