By Jessica Hudgins
SDUN Reporter
“It had a reputation,” said Lynn Elliott, NPCA’s concert committee chairwoman about the park, that was until recently notorious for drug dealers and gang members. “It wasn’t the happiest place.”
Omar Passons, NPCA president, agreed that the park—bordered by Howard and Lincoln avenues on the north and south, and Oregon and Idaho streets on the west and east—wasn’t as family-friendly as it should have been.
“There were a lot of people who would have liked to use the park but didn’t because they felt unsafe,” Passons said.
In the past year, the NPCA has intensified its effort to improve the park and persuade people to visit it again.
“We went door-to-door encouraging neighbors to come to board meetings and to talk about the park,” Elliott said. “More neighbors did start coming to those meetings, and we found that a lot of people were interested in making the park better.”
The NPCA went to the city for help in cleaning up and increasing the overall quality of the park. According to Passons, they were assisted in many ways.
“We’ve really worked hard with the school district on improving infrastructure,” he said. (The park has a joint-use agreement with the San Diego Unified School District due to the adjacent ALBA School.) “We’re also getting more police presence now, and that contributes to the park’s safety.”
With each step, the NPCA is getting closer and closer to getting rid of the park’s bad reputation, Elliott said, noting that she has already seen an improvement.
“The park is definitely different. It’s been nice for the last three months,” she said. “I haven’t seen any intimidating people or negative things.”
One of NPCA’s priorities is making sure all parts of North Park receive the same support and maintenance. Passons explained that this wasn’t always the case with North Park Community Park.
“It’s the biggest piece of open space in our community. For years that portion of North Park received less attention than other parts of the community were getting,” he said.
By holding a free summer concert at the community park, Passons said he has faith that it will bring the community together.
“We hope that having a concert there will increase the spotlight on that part of the neighborhood,” he said.
The concerts at Bird Park normally attract about 800 people for free live music, food and relaxation. Passons and Elliott agreed this is the kind of activity needed in the new location.
“It’s an event where old, young and all members of our community can come and enjoy themselves in a stress-free environment. If we could spread that to the North Park Community Park, it would invigorate that part of the community,” Passons said.
“It’s an event for people to come have a good time and be comfortable in their community. We want that at North Park Community Park,” Elliot said.
The Aug. 21 show will feature the Latin hip-hop band Agua Dulce. Also, local food favorites MIHO Gastrotruck and Viva Pops will be on hand with snacks and sweets for purchase.
