Pubdate: Mon, 01 Aug 2005
Source: Oakland Tribune, The (CA)
Copyright: 2005 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.oaklandtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/314
Author: Nick Miroff, CORRESPONDENT

CITY TRIES TO SNATCH BACK FRUITVALE PARKS FROM DRUG DEALERS, GANGS

Oakland Opening New Play Spaces, Renovating Old Ones While Exploring Ways 
To Keep Bad Elements Out

OAKLAND -- From the inside, the office of Fruitvale's new Carmen Flores 
Recreation Center looks something like a command post.

Wrap-around windows afford panoramic views of the soccer field and the 
playground equipment at Josie de la Cruz Park. A monitoring system allows 
staff to keep tabs on how long the facility's public restrooms are in use, 
a defense against vandals and drug users.

"We keep an eye out for the predators -- the drug dealers and gang 
members," said Marcelina Sanchez, center director. "The more people use 
this park, the less the drugs and gangs will."

Each afternoon, neighborhood families reap the rewards of this 
extra-vigilant approach to park safety.

Kids swarm the playground equipment as their parents lounge in the shade on 
graffiti-free benches. A friendly pick-up game develops on the soccer field 
nearby. The onlyreal source of trouble appears to be the circling 
paleteros, push-cart ice cream vendors whose ding-a-lings periodically 
touch off a wave of parental nagging throughout the park.

Most importantly, the seedy cast of characters who once reigned here has 
been banished. Even the old name -- Sanborn Park -- is gone now.

"This used to be an ugly place," said Jaime Barn, whose 11-year-old 
daughter, Karen, is now enrolled in two summer programs through the new 
recreation center.

"I couldn't bring my kids here because of the drinking and drug use," he 
said. "It's so much better now."

Located at 1637 Fruitvale Ave., the center held an open house last week to 
promote the wide range of community services it offers -- everything from 
child care to cooking classes to "Earn Your Bike," a bicycle safety and 
community service program. The $1.5 million facility also boasts an 
industrial kitchen, a computer lab, a large multipurpose room and a staff 
of six employees.

The Carmen Flores project is part of an ongoing effort by city officials 
and children's advocates to chip away at Fruitvale's parks and playground 
deficit. Demographic studies indicate the neighborhood has more kids than 
any other in Oakland but fewer park and playground opportunities.

This disparity has been eased in recent years with a mini-boom in new 
construction and park revitalization in Fruitvale. In September, the city 
will break ground on Union Point Park, a 9-acre spread of ball fields, 
trails and recreational areas along Fruitvale's waterfront.

City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (San Antonio-Fruitvale) hailed 
the $9 million new park as "a jewel." De la Fuente and other city officials 
said the neighborhood has seen more park construction and revitalization 
than any other area of the city in recent years.

"Historically, the flatlands neighborhoods have had less open space," De La 
Fuente said. "It's one of the highest density areas in the city, and that's 
why we're channeling more resources towards these types of projects."

An $8 million plan to renovate Fruitvale's Hacienda Peralta Park is also 
set to break ground soon, said De La Fuente staff members.

But part of the problem in securing more play spaces for the Fruitvale's 
kids lies with the existing parks in the district, which can quickly be 
appropriated by unsavory elements.

"We need to somehow control these areas that aren't controlled," said 
Public Works maintenance supervisor Anne Hyde. "If you don't have a 
neighborhood watch going on, people are intimidated."

The playground at Cesar Chavez Park on Foothill Boulevard is a case in 
point. At 4 p.m. on a recent weekday, there were only two mothers and their 
children using the park. Both adults said they felt unsafe, and constantly 
looked over their shoulders to eye an overgrown area in the rear of the 
park and the men passing through the area.

"By the late afternoon, there are homeless men drinking, or gang members 
smoking marijuana," said Fruitvale mom Maria Hernandez. "I won't come here 
after 6 p.m."

Her friend Zuelma Mendez said she doesn't venture into the park alone. "If 
I see another family here, I'll bring my son in," Mendez said. "But if 
there's no one else here, or I see gang members, I'm too scared."

A few blocks away, another small park on 38th Avenue appeared even more 
uninviting. Gang insignias marred the new playground equipment, and its 
only patrons -- a group of rough-looking men lounging by a fence -- clearly 
weren't there to use the slide.

Back at Josie de la Cruz Park and the Carmen Flores Recreation Center, the 
crowd was decidedly more innocent.

When asked what she liked about coming to the park, 4-year-old Alejandra 
Chavez replied, "I like to play."

Anything else?

"I like beans," she said. "And I like corn flakes."

With that, she ran off to play.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom