What' happening with Cedar Park?
I'm wondering if anyone knows what's going on at Cedar Park (small green space and playground at 49th and Baltimore/Catharine). I live near there and the park has been fenced in and it looks like there is major construction going on. So far it seems like the playground equipment is still intact, but the tables/benches may be gone? I know that park is well-used by a lot of older and younger residents and who've been displaced from the park for the time being. I wonder if what's happening in the park is somehow connected to the upcoming opening of the micro-brewery at the old Firehouse site. I know this neighborhood is looked at as being in a 'transition' zone - and I'm wondering what the impacts of the transition will be on long-time residents of the community in terms of affordable housing, and public spaces. Any information?
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I don't know the details but
I don't know the details but I do know that the park is undergoing renovations which include replacing the play surface, the play equipment (?), putting in a new walkway and lighting. I'm unsure of some details but they definitely aren't turning it into a parking lot or something. Cedar park has been talking about it forever and I doubt it has anything to do with the Brewpub...
Who is Cedar Park?
Who is Cedar Park?
I find it funny that since
I find it funny that since University City has bought up most of the property in that area and the neighborhood is becoming integrated again now they want to clear the winos and lushes out of the park and fix it up, that never for the majority of African Americans that resided in that area.
The re-landscaping of the
The re-landscaping of the little park at 50th and Baltimore - Cedar Park - that the surrounding neighborhood is named after is the result of literally almost a decade of work by the local neighborhood organization Cedar Park Neighbors. Cedar Park Neighbors raised most of the money for redo themselves, though they did get financial assistance from Councilwoman Blackwell's office as well as some money from the University City District (which covers the area out to 50th officially) for the lighting. The number one person responsible for the design and making sure that the redo actually happened is Monica Renee Allison who lives on the block of Catharine facing the park where you might say she's sort of an unofficial "mayor" of the block. You may have seen her - she's in her 40's, African-American with long dreads and has pet Rottweiler. She's lived in the neighborhood for a long time and has raised several kids here. She's always looking for vollunteers to do clean-up and gardening in the park.
The biggest expense in the redo will be replacing the older playground area with a newer one similar to the ones in nearby Malcom X Park and Clark Park. Apparently the old one is now considered "unsafe" and the new style with the rubber pavement is considered much safer. Besides redoing the walkway to try give it a more open, curved feel, they also plan to add more lighting and electricity to the park so it can better host events and fairs, Jazz in front of the Firehouse may someday move across the street into park itself as a result.
Being somewhat involved with CPN myself I can tell you honestly that although in the planning there was some discussion of the guys that drink the park - it was not so much about how to drive the drinkers out as what simple cheap things we could do to try and make the park more appealing to parents and families in the neighborhood as palce to bring their kids as well. No evil plan by "the man", just a general discussion about what we could do to try andmake the park as appealing and useful to as many people in the neighborhood as possible.
Joining Cedar Park Neighbors is easy and they want to get as many people from the neighborhood involved as possible. Be careful though because they will try to rope you into a bunch of neighborhood stuff - old tire roundups, block clean-ups, tree planting, recycling in front of the Firehouse, becoming a block captain. Yearly dues are $15 and you get your first year free. Oh and you get a little monthly newsletter which they might try and rope you into writing stories for as well. Meetings are held in Calvary at 48th and Baltimore.
http://www.cedarparkneighbors.org/index.php
Hope that clear up any questions.
Thanks for your response,
Thanks for your response, seand. It's good to know some more of the history around Cedar Park Neighbors. One suggestion for how you can inspire confidence in the community is to critique articles like the one that was published in the Inquirer about the Dock Street Brewery, in which the owner described the neighborhood as a 'transition' area, (the subtext - well on its way to being gentrified) with the only other establishments 'nuisance bars' (speaking of the third world lounge - the only place in the area that you can go to hear Soca and Calypso music) That article was filled with racial and class assumptions about who the 'community' is, and I think that in circumstances like that, neighborhood associations can seem to represent positions that don't actually benefit people but seem to want to replace them with others. And sometimes, even when long time and well meaning residents want to do good things, their agendas can become co-opted by other forces at work. Just some thoughts.
Except despite having frinds
Except despite having frinds that play music in there, I too think its pretty much a nuisance bar. Constant fights, people acting like idiots at closing time. They illegally lock the front door while they are open for business. They routinely charge white people more for drinks than they do black folks. I guarantee you no matter how bent your perspective about DOck St. is - they won't adjst the price for dirnks depending on the race of the person ordering the drinks.The FNS crew (forthy ninth street) that deals in the park drift in and out of the bar and while not really bad guys I would just as soon not have them on my block, particularly when people settle their business with guns like they did right in the park about 2 years ago. The FNS guys don't even live in the neighborhood but drive in from other neighbohroods to deal drugs here. Not cool. But hey - thats me.