Thomas Jefferson Park: A Communal Necessity

 

Thomas Jefferson Park is a local park located on the Upper East Side between 111th Street and 114th Street. The abundance of community members visiting the park both on Weekdays and Weekends shows how it is a central part of the region. However, there are some changes which can be implemented to help the park keep up with a forever changing neighborhood. 

Having first visited Thomas Jefferson Park on the Wednesday morning of May 3^rd, I was surprised to find how many people were visiting the Park that early in the morning. Most of the Park’s visitors were the elderly, making either a quick stroll through the central walking route or taking a quick jog across the track. Despite being a park located in Harlem, the community was much more diverse than expected – there were many Asians, Hispanics, and Caucasians traversing through the park in sleek tracksuits and pajamas, be it for a smoke or simply walking their dogs. The park tables had a single chess board set up with a game in progress, a soothing start to a new day.

The park encompasses a different environment than what the community offers. Upon stepping out of the park, I was taken to a new world – one which can only be defined as urban. Surrounded by bodegas brilliantly placed on every street corner and public housing works, the park provides serene solace away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Located to the west of the Harlem River, I would certainly say the walk through the park is a bit chilly, especially in the morning.

To get a better idea of how important the park is to the community, I decided to visit it once more – under different circumstances. Visiting the park again on Saturday, May 6, 2017 around noon, I found the area to be much more crowded. The social setting was mainly composed of young adolescents, getting some fresh air – much different from the weekday when the general population was the elderly and dog walkers. The park also seemed to have a livelier aura to it; the addition of the youth in the park made the area seem more like a park rather than a simple walking ground to get from one part of the neighborhood to another.

While the park didn’t seem that crowded on weekdays, it did seem to get busy on the weekends, showing that Thomas Jefferson Park is a central part of its community. One problem that I did notice was that some of the facilities available at the park seemed a bit dated. The children’s park seemed rather small, so perhaps expanding that could make the park more appealing to young mothers wishing to provide their newborns with an outdoors experience. I also believe that we ought to expand the number of basketball courts in the park – there were only 2 courts, pushed off to the corner, while there were 3 baseball fields. Although the open space to play three games of baseball simultaneously is nice, I believe there are other efforts which can be made for a more pleasant time at the park.