Update: The Parks

I went to last night's council meeting and thanked Fred Henry for heading up the parks' issue. His inquires to Mr. Lanza, city attorney, has resulted in a waiver. I haven't actually seen it, but he assured me during the week that one is in the works.

Fred and his wife also checked out the parks and got a bird's eye view of the broken equipment. As of right now the city hasn't applied for any grants or funding. The city's business administrator, Mrs. Tooker, said that she is looking into funding through the county. Mrs. Tooker didn't agree with my opinion on the parks, she felt that they weren't in bad shape, but I guess in life it depends where your standards are. I just personally feel that broken equipment with jagged edges is a safety hazard to small children. She also said that it would cost $500,000 to fix the parks.

I personally find that number hard to believe, but that would be a difference in opinion.

I offered a few suggestions at last night's meeting on how the parks could be rehabilitated through community volunteers as well as private grants and fund raising. I have been in contact with a few non-profit community groups who have already done park rebuilds in other towns in New Jersey for a fraction of the cost Mrs. Tooker stated.

Towns like Hopewell managed to build two beautiful parks with the $109,000 they raised as a community. The purpose of this project is to replace the broken equipment and fix the grounds so that the children can play in a safe environment. The goal is to involve the community so that we can all share in the experience and not burst our city's budget.

If you are interested in learning more about this project please e-mail me at southamboyparks@gmail.com

Volunteers Needed:
Grant research/writing
Fund raising and planning
Establishing a non-profit 501(C)3
Focus group members

Below Hopewell Park ($109,000) raised by volunteers through private grants and fund raising

More Park Pictures

Pine Ave. Park
Condom Wrappers and Used Condoms on Playground



Conover Street Park Below




Click on pictures to enlarge, use back arrows to return to page!

Barkalow Park Below



Barkalow

State of City's Parks

The State of the City's Park

South Amboy's parks are in need of some serious TLC and repair. Several parks have equipment that is broken with jagged edges, a hazard to children who use them. In addition to broken equipment the playground areas pose major tripping hazards related to the now exposed material that was laid under the grass/ sand. The basketball courts around town have cracked surfaces and the nets on some of the hoops are not intact. In my opinion the worst park is Barkalow Street park where the retaining wall is failing, resulting in structural instability and a large open area that can cause serious injury to a person or child.

Currently the city is facing a deficit and park rehab may not be on the agenda or in the budget. This does not at all mean that the state of the parks should be as they are. They are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

As a community we can fix some of the problems ourselves, painting tables and benches, minor fence repair, and replacing basketball nets. As a community we can clean up the parks, remove the broken glass and ensure some measure of safety for our children.

I am a parent of a 7 year old. A few weeks ago my daughter went to the summer rec at the Pine Ave. Park. Her councilors were wonderful. One particular morning when we arrived the park was trashed. Her councilors rallied the kids and together they picked up the trash. There was a child not more than 3 feet away from me who was reaching down to pick up a water bottle. I stopped her from touching it-- it was filled with urine! On more than one occasion I have also seen used condoms and condom wrappers in the park near the benches, tables and play structures. Earlier this week a child who was playing at the park picked up a discarded used condom.

If you are interested in volunteering to help clean up and repair the parks please let me know. I will be bringing this up at the next council meeting. Aug. 19th!

Above: David Street Park (aka Rosewell)

Above 2nd Street Park by St. Mary's Parking Lot

5th Street Basketball Court

Below: Barkalow Street Park
The light colored stuff on the ground is the material that was under the sand.

Pine Ave. Park