Blythe Street Park Gets a New Beginning

The recently refurbished Blythe Street Park--once one of the worst parks on one of the toughest streets in the city--was given a grand “inauguration” Thursday by City Councilman Alex Padilla and about 350 onlookers.

Padilla told the crowd the park’s reestablishment was a benchmark signaling the Blythe Street neighborhood is on the rebound. “Along with the neighbors, we are taking back the streets” and cleaning up the area, Padilla said.

The 140-by-300-foot park has been in extreme disrepair in recent years as the surrounding neighborhood has struggled with poverty and gangs.

“The park was dilapidated and contaminated,” said Maritza Artan, director of Casa Esperanza, a social service agency operating near the park. “There were needles and glass in the sand. The kids would get rashes from playing in the sand.”

Starting last November, Artan, along with the city’s Park and Recreation Department, volunteers from Casa Esperanza and considerable resources from a nearby Home Depot, have brought the park back to life. The efforts have resulted in new grass, a new irrigation system and flowers.

Artan said the changes are showing the area’s gang members that the park is now a place for children to play without fear. “It’s a rebirth,” she said. “Now this is the way a park should be. Children can play here now.”

About 200 children were on hand for the celebration, which featured an appearance by a red-wigged clown--a neighborhood teen recruited by Artan, who said the youth had recently given up gangs to turn his life around.

“There’s a lot of renewal going on here,” she said.