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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j9u90wi wrote

I know this is heresy to some on 2 counts, but there should be ball fields in LSP, and the Roberto Clemente Field on Grove & 6th should be a regular park with playgrounds, dog runs etc. It's a precious open space in the densest part of town being used by a privileged few in the 'Little League Mafia' that controls several JC parks. The user pressure on Hamilton Park is ridiculous, and we need more general parks.

At least some of the toxic "Badlands" of LSP could be remediated and turned into baseball and soccer fields. So much of that park is unused. This is not proposing the commercialization of LSP as some have justly derided, just a democratization of it's use, making it less passive and serving more people.

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[deleted] t1_j9uq3ey wrote

[deleted]

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j9vza0r wrote

>there really is no other plant and animal habitat like it around.

Given that the ecosystem in the park is a disaster built on landfill, I think this is the weakest argument. Yes there are plants and animals there, but it is in no way natural or even close. What would be nice as part of a master plan for the park is if the 'forbidden zone' could be turned into both sports fields and actual natural lands of native species and an ecosystem helped by landscaping to be more like a natural setting. It could eventually look more like Central Park instead of a landfilled rail yard let gone to seed.

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robin_tern t1_j9uiwcu wrote

This is so correct, what a waste of space at Clemente, as well as the large grass baseball field behind White Star.

Robin

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Ainsel72l t1_j9vk4mt wrote

It's hardly a waste of space if your kid is in a league.

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ten-ski OP t1_j9vtb9j wrote

I believe waste of space sounds a little harsh, and there definitely needs to be space for the kids little league games, but to have so much space locked up and unused for over half of the year and even during the season, unused for majority of the day, just doesn’t sound right, I mean there has to be some way to make this better right?

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Ainsel72l t1_j9vwwlz wrote

There are plenty of alternative parks around, maybe just not on your block. Many people don't have parks closer than about a mile away. Unless it's a pocket park (and we recently got one in our neighborhood), most of the parks are found on the outer edges of the city. Downtown has more than most.

Getting field time was never easy, especially for the older kids who had to share with different leagues. You didn't just get to walk out and grab a field for your game.it had to be scheduled. With so little else for kids to do, the little league fields should be hands off.

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robin_tern t1_ja4khvt wrote

Absolutely should be used for little league baseball and for adult baseball on the big field, which it is. However the problem is it is empty so much of the time, and when it is empty it is locked up and nobody other than a few well connected people can use it.

It is criminal that a city sports field is idle as much as those fields are, that big grass baseball field could be used way more than it is. My fantasy is to setup a time lapse camera on that field to show how much it is empty, and take the video to a council meeting.

Again, nobody is proposing taking field time from little leagues (or big leagues), rather to make the field available for use when it is otherwise empty.

Robin.

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Ainsel72l t1_ja4mwbn wrote

What would the fields be used for? Dog walking? Play areas? Picnics? Who would pay to put the fields back to right after the public tramples or damages them? Who would be responsible for cleaning and maintenance expenses? I can't agree that this is a good idea when there are other park options readily available for general use.

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READTHEBOOKJC t1_j9w3rr0 wrote

FULL STOP !!!! DON'T TOUCH THE JEWEL OF JERSEY CITY - LIBERTY STATE PARK IS OPEN SPACE FOR ALL AND NEEDS TO REMAIN AS SO

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j9x0mrq wrote

A large portion of the park is still brownfield 'space for none', and the ballfield on Grove is very nearly so. There's room to improve this without depriving anyone of their current LSP experience.

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