The Grinch is lurking at a Brooklyn playground — and he’s come for the toys!
Parents who take their kids to Chapin Playground near the Brooklyn Heights Promenade are fuming because Parks Department workers in recent weeks have swooped in and hauled away toys left there for youngsters to share.
For many years local parents have dropped off used toys that their children outgrew at the playground off Middagh Street for other kids to play with.
A few well-meaning folks have even donated new toys for the toddlers and preschoolers who frequent the playground.
The decades-long tradition has led to some parents nicknaming the playground the “Island of Misfit Toys” from TV’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
“I just don’t get it,” said one peeved parent at the playground Friday. “It’s not like anyone is leaving around toys that young children can choke with or get hurt — so why take them away?”
One parent, who identified herself as Cynthia, posted on the Yahoo group forum BrooklynHeightsParents that she and her family “filed a complaint” with the Parks Department over the pilfered playthings and “hope others do the same.”
Another mother, identified as Janie, wrote back: “It’s really a shame. I was thinking of donating some more toys but won’t if someone is going to take them away.”
The Parks Department confirmed it had received the complaint, and issued a statement saying workers “discarded broken toys that do not meet our safety standards.”
When told that parents claim many of the toys removed weren’t broken, department spokeswoman Meghan Lalor said toys shouldn’t be left at Chapin Playground because no staff is assigned there to ensure they are safely used.
A few city playgrounds include designated toys for kids. One example is Imagination Playground at the South Street Seaport, which employs trained “play associates” to monitor the use of loose parts.
“Parks is always happy to work with the community and provide services they’d like, but there is no formal program to house toys at [Chapin Playground],” Lalor said.
Some parents are still dropping off toys at the playground, which is named for the late Brooklyn Heights native and “Cat’s in the Cradle” crooner Harry Chapin.