Heckscher Playground was rebuilt again and reopened to the public in June 1970. At the time, the New York City Subway's 63rd Street lines were being built, with their planned routes running directly under the south side of Central Park. The city's parks commissioner, August Heckscher II (the grandson of the playground's namesake) expressed concern that the brand-new playground would have to be destroyed to make way for the excavation of the 63rd Street lines, located directly below the playground site. In early 1971, the subway system's operator New York City Transit Authority agreed to reduce construction time from three years to two years and construct a temporary playground nearby. When demolition of the playground commenced in August 1971, just fourteen months after its renovation, several people protested against the construction of the subway lines directly under the brand-new playground. Even so, work continued on the subway project. Richard Dattner designed the temporary play space, a $250,000 "water playground", which opened in 1973. The restored Heckscher Playground was reopened by 1977.
