October 1, 2010 – Mission Loc@l
In so many ways, it is no Dolores Park meeting.
There is no set agenda for the Garfield Park meeting Wednesday night – Supervisor David Campos says he simply wants to know “what works, what doesn’t work, what’s happening, what’s not happening.” He and other representatives from police and the city parks department are visibly relaxed.
When 40 or so neighbors pack the park’s tiny clubhouse, no epic rhetorical battle ensues. The words “hipster,” “noise,” “dogs,” are replaced with “families,” “outreach” and “youth programs.”
The meeting, organized by the nonprofit Neighborhood Parks Council, starts on a positive note.
“It’s a good place to be, the trees are beautiful,” says a blonde woman in the back, who says she brings her 15-month-old to the park almost every day. “He runs around in there and it’s just great.”
“The soccer fields have brought a lot of positive energy to the neighborhood,” agrees Mark, a father of three and a nearby resident for the last 13 years.
“What’s really working is we got our pool open,” chimes in another. “It’s like a brand-new pool, the waters are silky.”
And then we get down to business: unpleasant business.
