Police said the four were among nine young people in the playground at P.S. 29 in the nearby Cobble Hill neighborhood when the fire started May 8. Investigators said the blaze melted a slide and did a total of about $50,000 in damage.
"They poured rubbing alcohol down the slide. One of the kids was going to slide down the slide -- I guess while on fire," said Fire Department Chief Fire Marshal Robert Byrnes.
The teens apparently planned to film the stunt and post the video on YouTube.
Four have been charged, including Max Layton, 16, whose father, Charles Layton, is a movie executive who handled Canadian distribution for "The King's Speech."
Sam Gregory, Layton's lawyer, said he had collected money from the parents of the students involved to repair the damage.
"The first thing these people wanted to do was to make sure the kids at P.S. 29 had a new playground," he said.
