Saturday, September 3, 2011

Rebuild Travers Park

Dear Jackson Heights Green Alliance:

Please take a moment to visit my page, Rebuild Travers Park http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebuild-Travers-Park/167078183369634. There is a leak in the dam, and I need to poke some holes into all of our efforts. I have lived across the street from Travers Park for more than twenty years. The meager renovations that have undermined our collective wisdom of how the city should rebuild this park, leave me to be frustrated at the lack of planning and commitment, i.e., Daniel Dromm and Adrienne Benepe. The recent renovations were paltry in the face of the needs of this community and its potential to serve its residents. I propose rebuilding Travers Park and reallocating vital space for revitalization and beautification. Even The Friends need to recognize that expanding the park is not the answer nor the cry to go green. We need to understand the needs of the community and outsiders cannot help us but ourselves. Closing the sidewalk to add a playstreet is not the answer nor appropriating space from nearby Garden School. Travers Park is unsafe and grossly misallocates space. It's one major defect, the concrete field that attracts noise and loitering, lacks proper goalines or guideposts, creates a risk for passersby and pedestrians who can be hit by errant baseballs, or crashing into running children or soccer players, is an anathema for our community. This field is an eyesore and misappropriates vital space that could be used to rebuild our community. Please take a moment to visit my page, and see how I propose to rebuild Travers Park to make it safer, improve the quality of life for our community, sensitive to resident's needs, geography, population, age and location of Jackson Heights, and ultimately appropriate unused park space for the public good. Please join me, sign our petition, give us your feedback, support rebuilding Travers Park in a conscientious and comprehensive way, not only touting green communities but allocating vital space for the community's betterment and improve the overall quality of life. We need to envision a better Travers Park that is more accountable to our reality.

3 comments:

The Knowing Cafe said...

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebuild-Travers-Park/167078183369634

The Knowing Cafe said...

I know this may come as a shock to many of you who are perhaps, enjoying the new renovations and bringing your children or loved ones to Travers Park for fun and recreation. Why would anyone want to propose re-visioning Travers Park in the wake of a recent renovation? Well, I am simply pointing out the major defects with the current planning of Travers Park, which was undertaken like a cat in the night, without much interaction with the community or thoughtful planning. The city acted too swiftly, undertaking construction without ever properly consulting with community members and took advantage of many elderly and misinformed citizens who were confused about the status of construction. The city did what it wanted NOT what was expected, and all of us were taken for a ride. If such poor planning continues, this quiet residential community will be destroyed. For more than two decades, I have lived across the street from Travers Park, facing the ugly concrete field that lacks any aesthetic value. I have yearned that one day the city would uproot this section of the park and utilize space for the betterment of the community and unify this large, deformed section of the park for a massive overhaul. This large, undefined and nondescript piece of land clashes with everything around it. No matter how much we try to compensate for its gross misallocation of land, by adding a playstreet, or a green zone, we cannot ignore the fact that it is an eyesore for our community. I have tried my best to undertake this vital community effort, despite an illness and other health problems, to show how Travers Park can and should be rebuilt, only because it has been a long-standing wish, to see this field eradicated. I urge all of you to consider my proposal to rebuild Travers Park, and how a new residential community and re-appropriation of space can bring greater vitality to this section of Jackson Heights, and preserve our community. I urge you to seriously consider my proposal, showing how the current Travers Park can be re-envisioned and close a gaping hole in the heart of Jackson Heights that displaces much of our community's focus, needs and resources.

The Knowing Cafe said...

Sign the petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/858/petition-to-rebuild-travers-park/