Reply With QuoteAlthough it has taken some time, it is well worth the effort and it brings the community together. The idea that citizens would be afforded needed equipment is extraordinary!
In a poor city, now half empty & lacking recources this is an idea whose time has come . . . again.
Marilyn Rodger's poineering efforts in Johnson Park on Elmwood could be replicated citywide.
In poor neighborhoods & public housing developments there are literally potential armies of the idle, who technically are required to "earn" a portion of their public benefits. What better way for the unskilled to learn work habits & skills than to cut grass, monitor security of vacant buildings, pick up litter, etc?
And, what is all citizens were expected to pick up litter, not pass-it-by, as they walk down the street? A discarded bottle picked-up before some bored kid shatters it is 'harm-reduction" on a grassroots scale.
In a city with an ever-older population, the elderly who too often lack exercise, would benefit from "stooping" exercises, while saving money on healthclub dues.
In the process, litterbugs seeing others pick up their litter might be less likely to litter themselves?
Or what about workers downtown spending occasional lunch hours weeding public garden spaces, making it "cool", perhaps effortlessly "dieting" in the process?
Radical???
http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/462147.html
Businesses and community groups might adopt pocket parks in Buffalo
By Brian Meyer NEWS STAFF REPORTER, Updated: 10/13/08 7:55 AM
Cathedral Park is one of the most attractive public spaces in downtown Buffalo. Old, towering trees. Benches. Beautiful cathedrals at either end, the historic Ellicott Square across the street. A restful respite in the middle of busy downtown Buffalo.
Yet not everything is picturesque in this small park. Rats scurry from planter to planter, defying pest control officers who have baited the area. And while some sections of the pocket park are well-maintained, the area at Swan and Franklin streets is filled with weeds. Its fountain is also unsightly.
“It needs some real tender loving care,” said Joseph Bella, an executive associate with Quality Inspection Services. Company President John E. Sisson echoed similar views in a letter he sent to the Common Council. “With close to 300 employees, we’d like to greet each of them, along with our customers, with a smile and a clean, appropriate work location,” Sisson wrote.
A mile away, volunteers on the Lower West Side have been performing maintenance tasks in the historic 1.1-acre Johnson Park for years. Some would like to see the city recognize the efforts by providing some resources.
What do these two parks have in common? There’s talk in City Hall of creating a model where businesses, community groups and other entities could basically adopt one of Buffalo’s 180 pocket parks and recreation areas.
Here’s how some city leaders see it working: Outside entities would agree to perform cleanup chores or launch beautification projects. City attorneys would make sure contracts don’t expose taxpayers to potentially costly liability suits. Once all provisions are ironed out, the city would give groups the green light to proceed — along with some equipment and supplies.
For example, Quality Inspections Services wants to manage a park beautification process that could include as much of Cathedral Park as the city desires, said Bella. The park snakes diagonally from Swan and Franklin to Main and Church streets. He said the company would likely ask the city to provide paint and cleanup supplies.
Similar arrangements have been forged in the past at some city-owned facilities, but Ellicott Common Council Member Brian C. Davis wants to expand the scope of the effort. He said providing groups lawnmowers and supplies would be a small investment that would produce visible payoffs in neighborhoods throughout the city.
Davis said that ever since the city signed a deal in 2004 to have Erie County operate Buffalo parks and recreation centers — a deal the county is now balking at — there have been maintenance problems in many small pocket parks. “The county is still not up to speed, and I have little faith they’ll ever be up to speed in properly maintaining [pocket parks],” said Davis. He’s convinced conditions would markedly improve if the city encourages and provides incentives to businesses, block clubs and community groups to help maintain neighborhood assets. Davis’ concept drew an enthusiastic response from a neighborhood advocate.
“Applause, applause, applause,” said Marilyn Rodgers, a director of the West Village Renaissance Group, when informed of Davis’ efforts. The neighborhood association has been performing chores in Johnson Park for seven years, she said. The group is also working with other organizations on a long-term restoration project in Johnson Park, which is off of Elmwood Avenue near Hutchinson-Central Technical High School. A new model that spurs groups to become actively involved in maintaining and upgrading neighborhood recreation spots should be aggressively pursued, Rodgers said.
Mayor Byron W. Brown’s administration is eager to proceed, said Communications Director Peter K. Cutler. The Law Department hopes to finalize a plan for Cathedral Park in the near future.
The city has also been meeting with members of the Buffalo Green Fund, a not-for-profit group that promotes private contributions for public beautification projects. City Public Works Commissioner Steven J. Stepniak said he’s hopeful the group will volunteer to help redesign some public spaces downtown, making them landscaping showpieces.
“We want to have a plan in place by next spring,” he said.
bmeyer@buffnews.com
Although it has taken some time, it is well worth the effort and it brings the community together. The idea that citizens would be afforded needed equipment is extraordinary!
It sounds like a great idea and has worked over the short term but has never worked as a long term solution.
You may find a couple of motivated citizens to help in their neighborhoods but after they get tired, burned out, frustrated, or move, the pocket parks turn into overgrown eyesores.
Citizens can be expected to supplement a government effort but can't be a permanent solution.
Rosa Gibson has been doing it probably 20 yrs with 10-12 vacant lots they are truly lovely!
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Originally Posted by JoeCitizen
Understood, Joe. That's why we have also started an endowment for the Johnson Park Restoration Project - to assure maintenance and future needs are met through the years. http://jprestoration.blogspot.com
Where did the endowment come from?
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The original $1,000 came from the seed organization with other contributions from JP believers such as Colleen Dunham of Seattle, WA who lived here for approximately 4 months while visiting the area, and other business leaders such as Rocco Termini.
We were able to obtain some seed money for the Individual, Corporate and Endowment campaigns to be launched shortly through a grant from the CFGB. We were also in the final four for the 21st Century Fund and have other grant applications circulating now.
I know, I know - it's the city's responsibility to take care of the parks - but Johnson Park is an historical one as it was Buffalo's first park and it also holds a special place in many's hearts. so, we're willing to take on the project. We also have an In-Kind construction manager when the running track, pathway, and other amenities are implemented - Michael Morga of Peyton-Barlow has offered his services gratis - and that's a huge deduction from the budget.
Besides, it keeps us busy and off the streets.
Sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, those who put their hearts and souls into a project like that, especially in certain areas of the city, are bound to be wasting their precious energy, because some jerks will decide the benches needs a nice coat of spray paint, grafitti style.
I really, really feel sorry for those city residents who give it their all, only to be knocked down by losers who don't care about anything but themselves.
We fought to take back this park from the druggies and have decided to wait on implementing benches. Most folks bring their folding chairs or blankets, anyway and are quite content. They understand why.
Are there any possible legal consequences for your avergae Joe or his/her company adopting a park?
How long until the unions file a lawsuit preventing people from maintaining a park? Didn't something like that happen at Chestnut Ridge?
Most of all I like bulldozers and dirt
And that's the part that sucks, doesn't it?
Is a pocket park like a pocket watch? Is It Jamacian?
Who cares? It's our neighborhood and we want it kept well. They want to file suit - that's fine. Maybe they'll have to do their job as the case is decided.
Yeah, it sucks, but we have made tremendous progress on cleaning the bad issues out. Like shining a light, making things safer. Give us a couple of years and the benches will be there. It's like building a house - the foundation is laid brick-by-brick.
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