NEW YORK —  Parents in New York City said their children are getting their feet burned while playing on blistering hot playgrounds.

The parents and their supporters said more than a dozen children are scorched each year by hot playground equipment, particularly by black mats under jungle gyms and sliding boards. They said the city is ignoring a public health and safety issue.

Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said signs have been posted in playgrounds warning against going barefoot. He said his department was not going to remove the mats, calling the city's playgrounds "the safest in the world."

Parks Department spokesman Jama Adams told the Daily News in Monday editions that there have been "no incidents reported" involving children being burned at playgrounds.