Toxic or not, turf surface losing ground in NYC

New York City, meet FlexSand. The newly-embraced artificial turf material, which relies on sand instead of crumb rubber to pad the synthetic grass so common in the city’s sports fields, is making its New York debut. Weeks after The Queens Courier reported on increased local opposition to the old crumb rubber infill that typically composes artificial sports surfaces, the city parks department has installed the new surface at two locations: Manhattan’s Thomas Jefferson Park in Harlem, and Queens’ Highland Park off Jamaica Avenue.