When Sara Hirschler was driving around Spring Garden a few years back on a house-hunting mission, it was her real estate agent who pointed out the embarrassing eyesore that was
Roberto Clemente Park, at 19th and Wallace streets. "He was like, 'Don't look at this park--it's not a good place!'" Hirschler recalls. And at the time, that was certainly an accurate assessment. Roberto Clemente Park has long been seen as a hotbed of illicit drug and gang activity, regardless of the fact that much of the surrounding community is relatively upscale.
Hirschler nevertheless ended up purchasing a condo around the corner from the park, and she soon came to know Roberto Clemente as "this really amazing, central spot in the neighborhood," she says. "I definitely saw it as an opportunity, where I could have a place to get to know my neighbors."
At first, Hirschler organized a series of kickball games in the park, but they soon evolved into something bigger and better. "I went through the park," she says, "and created an action plan of all the needs the park had--basic things, like painting the playground equipment, and the field needing some grass."
Along with Justino Navarro, a
Spring Garden CDC board member, Hirschler also launched
Friends of Clemente, which has been working to revitalize the park since 2008. (The group is largely funded by donations.) The organization's latest initiative involves a complete overhaul of the park, which should be finished by the end of May. A fence that wraps around the park's field is also being painted, and on May 14 the group will be hosting the second installment of
Clemente Fest, a sort of neighborhood get-together featuring food, music, and a handball tournament.
"It's such a beautiful neighborhood," Hirschler adds. "And (Clemente Fest) is a great opportunity to start to get to know everybody, and to really feel like a community."
Source: Sara Hirschler, Friends of Clemente
Writer: Dan Eldridge
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