MILTON >> While the town supervisor welcomed local politicians, heads of the chambers of commerce and supporters to the Burgess-Kimball Memorial Park, site of a future all-inclusive playground, two-year-old Giovanni LaBate of Milton wandered the dusty field collecting rocks. After contentedly lining them up on the edge of the pavilion, he toted a stone over to his mother, Krystyn, who picked him up.
“Hey, Mommy, a rock,” he said softly and then wiggled to get down, this little boy whom doctors once said might never walk or talk. Soon, he’ll have a new playground here to share with all the other kids.
Just before his first birthday, Giovanni was diagnosed with two rare neurological conditions: periventricular heterotopia, a disorder in which the brain’s gray matter doesn’t form properly during early fetal development, making clumps around the ventricles, and porencephaly, caused by a cyst filled with cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, usually the result of damage from stroke or infection after birth. Giovanni had a stroke that left him with hemiplegia, resulting in lessened use of his left arm and leg. He walks with the help of braces.
Since his birth, his parents have worked hard to get him the medical help and social atmosphere he needs.
In a Facebook post, Krystyn wrote, “I will fight to the very end to make sure Giovanni has the most normal life possible. He is a strong little boy. In his short life, he has already defied the odds, and we will continue to do so.”
Now the town of Milton is working with Krystyn’s nonprofit, the Cortical Malformation and Cephalic Disorder (CMCD) Foundation, to build a one-of-a-kind inclusive play space that exceeds the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for children with different abilities. On Thursday, Milton Supervisor Dan Lewza officiated over a groundbreaking ceremony in Burgess-Kimball Memorial Park.
“The strength of a community is that everyone fits,” said Assemblyman Jim Tedisco at the ceremony. “This playground will give new opportunities to children who are challenged.”
Pete Bardunis, president of the Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said Milton was building a community with a great quality of life. Denise Romeo, vice president of member services at the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said she was honored and proud to be there.
“I hope every day, for the kids playing in this future play space, will be as beautiful as today,” she said.
The fully reconstructed 17,000-square-foot playground will be located in the recreation area and will feature ADA swings, sensory panels that aid children with sensory processing disorders, transfer platforms for children with mobility issues, and rubber safety surfacing tiles to ensure the ease of transition and safety for all children. Special ramps for wheelchairs and one swing that will hold a wheelchair will also be built.
“I live in an amazing town,” Krystyn said, choking up a little. “It has been disheartening and hard to watch Giovanni try to play with other children on playgrounds. Now all kids will be able to use the equipment. I couldn’t be prouder.”
Lewza, Tedisco and the others lifted shovels full of symbolic earth. Giovanni hefted his own small shovel, then wandered away to drag a stick through the dirt.
The Milton Town Board voted in December 2014 to give $175,000 toward the two main play structures. This equipment for the playground is being funded by Milton’s Recreation Fund – paid into by developers, instead of taxpayers. GameTime, a playground equipment manufacturer, awarded a $160,000 grant to the project. The foundation is raising $80,000 toward ancillary equipment and a fence.
The playground will be completed in three months.
