North Rochdale Playground

What was here before?

This playground is in the northeast corner of the cooperative housing community of Rochdale Village, which occupies the former site of the Jamaica Racetrack. The Metropolitan Jockey Club opened the track on April 27, 1903, with 15,000 people in attendance.  The one-mile, oval track was used for thoroughbred horse racing and was exceptionally fast due to a superior drainage system.  The complex featured 9,000 grandstand seats and an open field intended for additional seating.  The facility set its maximum attendance record on Memorial Day 1945, with 64,679 spectators.  Following a period of decline, Jamaica Racetrack closed on August 1, 1959.

The site was purchased by developer Abraham Kazan of the United Housing Foundation to build a cooperative housing community, designed by architect Herman Jessor (1894-1990). Upon completion in 1963, Rochdale Village housed 5,860 families in 20 fourteen-story apartment buildings on a 170-acre site.  The United Housing Foundation set aside ten acres for a shopping center and provided space for three public schools that were built later. Rochdale Village held the record as the world’s largest private housing complex until it was surpassed by Co-op City (1970) in the Bronx, also designed by Jessor.

How did this site become a playground?

Approximately three years after the completion of Rochdale Village, this playground opened on 1966, as P.S. 30 Playground.  This playground is a Jointly Operated Playground (JOP) serving P.S. 30 The Ruby S. Couche Elementary School and the local community. Beginning in 1938, the Board of Education (now the Department of Education) agreed to provide land next to schools where NYC Parks could build and maintain playgrounds that could be used by the school during the day and by the public when school is not in session. Parks assigned the property’s present name in 1986.

In 1998, North Rochdale Playground was renovated, which included the installation of modular play equipment and fences as well as the re-paving of the property.  The playground features a full basketball court, spray shower, swings, a multi-purpose play area, and handball courts. 

In 2024 the playground was redesigned with new play equipment, bike racks and a bike repair station, spray shower, and other improvements.

What is this playground named for?

The playground and surrounding housing complex are named after the town of Rochdale, England. In the 19^th century, an organization called the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers established a set of ideals known as the Rochdale Principles that is used by many co-operatives worldwide.