Comiskey Park in Mid-City is finally getting a second chance

It was one of the more spectacular post-Katrina boondoggles: A do-gooder production company swooped into New Orleans and promised to build a $10 million community center at Comiskey Park, a ramshackle playground in one of the grittier sections of Mid-City.

The organizers pledged to document the project for TV, and actor Lou Gossett Jr. signed on to narrate the seven-part feature.

But instead of a reality series, city residents got stuck with a derelict playground and almost $700,000 in unpaid bills. The state got taken for even more: $1.2 million in tax credits.

Now, more than three years after the developer vanished, the playground on South Jefferson Davis Parkway is finally being rehabbed the old-fashioned way, with public money. Come early next year, there will be new play structures, swings and a baseball field. The basketball court will be spiffed up, and snacks will be available at a renovated concessions building.

That's welcome news to the park's neighbors.

READ MORE AT NOLA.COM