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Friday, October 02, 2015

They don't like the changes at Lincoln Park

Some residents of Center Grove are upset of the changes at Lincoln Park, not the band, the little pocket park on Jackson Street. 


"Over the past couple of years, Lincoln Park has been transformed from a lush, much-loved gem of nature nestled within a tight-knit community, to a plastic, fenced in compound. This transformation has disturbed many long-time residents of the neighborhood such as myself, and has materially affected the aesthetic of what was once a quaint sanctuary within our city," says a resident. You can see the difference in these two photos, the bottom photo is the park before the city made the changes.

The grass is now artificial turf and a five foot high fence was erected.


People don't like artificial turf and with over-development encroaching, we are losing all that is real and natural in Coconut Grove.


I asked the Commissioner's office about this. Ron Nelson, his chief of staff responded. He told me that Lincoln Park was turned into a family park in reaction to the families who complained about Blanche Park being closed due to the toxic problem. 



I can see how changing one park to accommodate another park is a problem. Also, apparently neighbors were not notified of the artificial turf and other changes, which bothers neighbors who enjoyed the naturalness on the small street. Also, Peacock Park is due to have play equipment, but in the meantime, the kids have the play equipment at Lincoln Park. The ubiquitous artificial turf which is a cure all for everything these days is said to work better than regular grass because the trees caused too much shade and the grass that was there did not grow well, according to Ron.

"Lincoln Park had tested free of contamination and was close by, so it became the safe place for families. Play equipment and artificial turf were added, and when you have children you need a fence," says Ron.


Ron says that, "Returning the park to its original condition will need to be discussed with the residents, the new Parks Director, and the Police Commander."

I can see how neighbors might feel, if I lived across the street from the park, and I almost lived right across from this park at one time, I would hate to see a quiet pocket park turned into a playground with fake grass and a fence. It's almost like waking up one day and having a school yard just magically appear across the street from you. It's a dramatic change. That neighbor who lives right next to the park went from living next to a quiet oasis, to a playground. But I think the complaints are more about the fake grass and gate that encloses the park than it is about the children.

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18 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Typical modus operandi is to fund a bad idea without notice to everyone who would be affected which will necessitate redoing the job and he is going to insist on a compromise since he will not admit the reason he wants work to be redone is to line the pocket of contractors and subsequent supporters. Can you hear the cash register going CHACHING.

October 02, 2015 9:15 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

this also will become toxic due to artificial turf. grew up in the Grove-owned the corner house on Virginia and Jackson used to be great yellow house with old fashion porch-back in the old days. That little unknown park was great the way it was natural and the old grove--so many Easter egg hunts there -so many neighborhood parties held there-so many block parties--ahh the good old days and not so long ago...

October 02, 2015 9:15 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Readers, I received an email from a resident near Lincoln Park about this. I would like to share what I replied:

I feel your pain about parks. I have been fighting the city for years about adding new park space, maintaining our existing parks spaces and improving parks programming. I know more about parks than most people in Miami, which is why I was prevented by commissioners from joining the city parks board. I am possibly the only person anywhere in the county fighting artificial turf in parks.

This is a war on natural grass. If it were up to me, I would rip out all artificial turf and restore the natural grass. This is will save taxpayers money immediately.

The excuse of artificial turf is to save money because it supposedly requires less maintenance and will last 10 years. After watching Blanche Park be remodeled 4 times in 5 years, their excuse is an outright lie.

Artificial turf is the latest scam that will cost taxpayers millions and is going in every park we have: every contaminated park, the Miami Marine Stadium, and every new dog park. That is millions of sq ft of surface area for artificial turf.

I also believe fencing parks is largely unnecessary and is only a deterrent to use rather than achieving the excuse of keeping out homeless - it keeps out everyone!

One day in the next few years, we'll look back at these emails and see how truly prophetic this conversation is.


....



Rosy Palomino
Common Sense Candidate
for City of Miami District 2 Commissioner

October 02, 2015 10:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Artificial turf is carcinogenic, last year over sixty children with cancer were identified nationwide who playing goalies on artificial turf soccer fields. The rubber sidewalks are made from the same stuff, recycled tires, they are not safe for kids to roll and play on, it is unconscionable and irresponsible to remove natural turf and replace it with risky and potentially dangerous material. The following was on NBC news today:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-wont-say-if-artificial-turf-safe-kids-n435731

October 02, 2015 11:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The grass is now artificial turf and a five foot high fence was erected."

That's what City Hall and many people seem to love: Plastic and Concrete.

On Regatta Park, they used all the Concrete from the Expo-center to build those horrific, abominable "park benches".

Some Concrete Developers and Contractors must be making millions, constructions everywhere, like those that took almost a Decade on 27th av: or the fiascos on Commodore Islands.. drill, demolish, pour concrete, reconsider, demolish again, start over. Can't wait for tha Plastic Concrete Malls to come to match the benches. Ever heard of decorative ROCK or WOOD??

Some people seem to love that these days, even on parks.

October 02, 2015 12:44 PM  
Anonymous Amanda said...

Why is this "news" now? The park was redone over a year ago. Many more people enjoy the park now than they did before the re-do. Sorry that the neighbors that they do not like the sounds of children playing outdoors. That's what this is about.

October 02, 2015 3:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Pediatric Oncologists are going to be busy

October 02, 2015 4:03 PM  
Blogger Seth Sklarey said...

Once again fake artificial grass from the commissioner. Wonder how much the contractor contributed to his wife's campaign?
It's time for a change.

October 02, 2015 4:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Artificial turf. Really. Ever heard of botany landscape etc? Plenty of hearty species available and cheaper. So the question is. ...who got the kick back for purchase of artificial turf and what company or bogus LLC provided it.

October 02, 2015 5:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Does anyone know who the contractor or supplier of the artificial turf is for this job and other jobs around District 2?

October 02, 2015 6:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And how about Kennedy Park's latest-model Trailer Trash rolling bathroom?

Sarnoff's City Hall are really out-doing themselves with low budget stuff. Plastic turf, ugly fences, cheap concrete benches, mobile trash rooms..

I thought Grovites paid tod Tax dollar.

Look at the latest Coral Gables parks, Marble stone, nices benches, Gyms, Fancy Bridges over canals..

October 02, 2015 6:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The most ridiculous job is the City's $20 million asphalt and Astroturfing of the Virginia Key waterfront -acres of AstroTurf surrounding the Miami Marine Stadium. The City had the nerve to call that a "park"

October 02, 2015 9:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

First of all, this park is used more now than it ever has been in the last 20 years - that is undeniable fact. That's probably why some old "it's too loud" friend of Tom's started whining in his ear about it. The young families of the grove use this park.

The people complaining are probably just mad that they can't get away with using as their dog's personal bathroom anymore.

AS for the turf issue - I prefer grass, but the field turf referenced in the article is entirely dissimilar to this type of turf. Also, it's another fake cancer scare. Stop eating peanut butter and cooking indoors if you're so scared.

October 05, 2015 3:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

While certainly Lincoln Park is being used more during the daytime than it was before the plastic grass was installed, I disagree with the suggestion that the park is used more now than before. Regardless, however, the net result of the changes to Lincoln Park has been a reduction in use between the kiddie area of Blanche Park and Lincoln Park combined, as those residents who enjoyed a natural oasis in the neighborhood have been disenfranchised, and fewer children are playing in Blanche Park.

Frankly, the reasons that have been provided by the commissioner's office for the changes in Lincoln Park are dubious, at best. The notion that grass couldn't grow in Lincoln Park is ridiculous, as the above picture shows. The commissioner was even quoted in the Miami Herald stating that the children's play equipment was only going to be installed temporarily while the toxic soil in Blanche Park was removed. If the Blanche Park soil is, as Mr. Sarnoff has stated, now safe, then why did the city go to the time and expense (not to mention acting contrary to Sarnoff's own words), to install fake grass, a fence and permanent play equipment in Lincoln Park?

Really, the question I would like answered is: "Is there any candidate running for the commissioner's position in district 2 that has the courage to commit to restoring the natural beauty of Lincoln Park?".

October 06, 2015 1:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The people against this park are dog owners who think their dogs are more important than kids.

The reason they want it open, and unkempt is so they can use it as their dog's toilet and not clean up. That's the whole story.

Kids matter, your mangy dogs don't.

October 06, 2015 3:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do not have a dog, but to me, it would seem that all of this controversy over Lincoln Park would be easily solved if the people wanting to use a park for their dog used the Blanche Park dog area, the people that wanted a play area for their kids used the play area at Blanche Park, and the people that want a natural park use Lincoln Park. These parks are only a few hundred feet away from each other.

Why are there two children's play area parks so close to each other with no natural park? It seems to me that the people wanting child play structures and astro-turf have gotten the ear of the person in charge, and the losers have been the residents that used to enjoy a natural park.

October 06, 2015 7:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

To the Anonymous poster insinuating that Commissioner Sarnoff misled his constituents regarding Lincoln Park:

Shocking! Simply Shocking!

Our most recent Commissioner will be best remembered for plastic parks, and the one before that for a famous drunk mugshot after trying to fight a police officer at the airport. Can anybody tell me when we will get a Commissioner that is responsive to the Grove's residents rather than their ego?

October 06, 2015 7:14 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK - let me get this straight. There are three parks all close to each other (the Blanche dog park, the Blanche playground, and Lincoln Park), and there are three groups that want to use the parks (the dog lovers, the parents with kids, and the nature lovers). The solution seems like a no-brainer: three parks and three uses!

Why, then, are all of these properties being covered with artificial grass and plastic playthings, despite the VERY obvious solution to the center-Grove's park needs?

Hmmm, lemme think...

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

October 06, 2015 7:33 PM  

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