Dear Editor:
When I think of a park, I like to be able to use the word spacious to describe it. Hoboken has only one large central park in the city and that park is Church Square Park. Originally this park was dedicated as a “public square” by John Stevens, the founder of Hoboken, in 1804, but it was not until 1873 that this public land was laid out as a park with walkways and trees.
As time passed, the park was continually improved upon with other amenities for the public. In a mile square city, this plot of land was indeed once quite spacious when you consider it sits in a town of buildings that are sitting right next to each other. The freedom that the park offered with its greenery and openness was a reprieve from a confined city atmosphere.
But enter 2012, and the poor park is being partitioned into fence-enclosed cages crammed with so many different pieces of recreation equipment. There is an old saying that fences keep people in, but they also keep people out. Fences are barriers that deliberately control where one can walk and not walk. Fences are barriers that compartmentalize areas. This results in making an area of land seem quite small due to the restriction of free access. Your freedom of movement is compromised considerably when you are forced to open and close gates or to stay on a path on the outside of the fences.
The city has held meetings regarding the changes they want to make with Church Square Park and showed a completed diagram which was published in the Aug. 5th edition of this paper. There will be different stages that the park will go through to implement some of these changes. I am very concerned that the city wants to put everything they can (except the kitchen sink) into a plot of land that is no longer a spacious place to walk. Practically every area would have a fence that would be considerably higher than the low rail fencing that exists around the dolphin area. I know that the City Council has to approve the changes to the park and I hope that bushes instead of fences will bound the areas that are destined to be altered.
Simplicity and freedom should describe a green space in any town park. Cluttering it up with so many man-made pieces only take away from the beauty of a park and limit one’s ability to find peace and relaxation amongst the trees and fresh air. Please keep it simple and green.
Mary Ondrejka