SCRANTON — The city hopes to receive a $175,000 state grant to expand the new, all-inclusive Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park.
The disabled-accessible playground opened last summer with a “poured-in-place” rubber surface and equipment. It is set between the Schimelfenig Pavilion and the former zoo building that now houses the St. Cats and Dogs spay/neuter clinic.
Children and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities or those who are neurodivergent may not be able to use the same equipment in the same kind of environment as others who aren’t facing such challenges. The Butterfly Playground accommodates them and their families.
“Our goal is to provide a healthy, social skill-building and learning environment,” according to a description of the Butterfly Playground on the Nay Aug Park website. “It is our effort to improve Nay Aug Park — ‘Our Park’ — so that those with physical disabilities are included and will know that their community cares about their needs.”
On Tuesday, Scranton City Council unanimously introduced a resolution from Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti’s administration to apply for and execute a $175,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a Phase 2 of Butterfly Playground.
If awarded, the grant would expand the Butterfly Playground features with additional surfacing and equipment. The grant requires a 50% match that would come from the All One Foundation.
Council voted 5-0, with President Tom Schuster, Patrick Flynn, Mark McAndrew, Sean McAndrew and Jessica Rothchild all in favor, to introduce the resolution. It would come back for a second vote on adoption at council’s next weekly meeting.
“I’m glad to see that we’re applying for a grant for Phase 2 for this playground,” Rothchild said. “I’m happy that we do have that playground now at Nay Aug that is accessible, but there could certainly be more that could be added. If this grant is awarded to the city, then we’d have the opportunity to do that, to add even more activities and equipment onto the playground for everyone to enjoy.”
Schuster added, “Yes, it would be great to see this grant accepted.”
The opening of Butterfly Playground followed the city’s demolition and removal in 2024 of an old wooden play area called Community Playground in a northeast corner of the park, near Hanlon’s Grove and the former zoo building.
Eliana Pariyar, 4, of Cincinnati, Oh., enjoys the slide in the Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Thursday, April 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Eliana Pariyar, 4, of Cincinnati, Oh., plays in the Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Thursday, April 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Eliana Pariyar, 4, of Cincinnati, Oh., plays on the merry-go-round with her grandmother San Monger, of Scranton, in the Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Thursday, April 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Thursday, April 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, at left, delivers the annual State of the City address on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 at the Kane Forum in Leahy Hall at the University of Scranton. Her slide show included “Signature Projects” at Nay Aug Park, including multipurpose courts, the pool complex and Butterfly Playground. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton on April 22, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Eliana Pariyar, 4, of Cincinnati, Oh., enjoys the slide in the Butterfly Playground at Nay Aug Park in Scranton Thursday, April 23, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)