With $400,000 provided under a new initiative, PS 138 in the Soundview section of The Bronx officially opened a new playground yesterday equipped with a butterfly garden, rock-climbing wall and slides. The playground is being made available to the public after school hours as part of a $111 million program previously announced by Mayor Bloomberg to convert 290 schoolyards into playgrounds in underserved neighborhoods. Old-fashioned swings won't be featured in most of the new play areas. "Because of the modern playground design standard and safety standards, swings now require twice as much space as we required growing up," Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe explained. "You have one accident, everyone screams more safety, another level of backup and then somebody sues. That's the price," added Bloomberg.

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