Neighborhood kids rushed through the sprinklers and slipped down the slides at the newly-reopened Boyd-McGuiness Park on Aug. 25, while adults gathered to cut the ribbon to celebrate the reopening.
An $850,000 refurbishing expanded the size of the space at the corner of Duncan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard after a fire gutted a house on one side of the park.
“This was a pocket park,” said Charlene Burke, chair of the West Bergen Lincoln Park Neighborhood Coalition. “When the house burned down, the developer wanted to build a high rise on the site. But it needed too many variances.”
Prior to its expansion, the tiny park served as a community hub for local residents. Kids played there. Senior citizens sat nearby at the bus stop.
Originally proposed by then-Councilman David Donnelly in 2007, the park expansion now provides a larger area with upgraded facilities for kids, seniors, and others who might want to use the park. While the park doesn’t yet have wi-fi capacity, Burke said that is on the agenda. She also said that a small stage located in the corner of the park would likely become a center for local community events.
A park with a history
“The park is named after some soldiers who lived on this block and served in World War II,” Mayor Steven Fulop said. “They gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country. The Boyd-McGuiness Park is recognition to their sacrifice.”
“This park is part of a $6 million investment made last year towards expanding open space in Jersey City.” – Mayor Steven Fulop
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“They were my first cousins,” Barbara Boyd Griffin said. “They grew up on Duncan Avenue, as did I. They attended St. Aloysius grammar school and St. Aloysius High School before they went off into the service. They were two sons in a family of five boys. Four of those five boys served at the same time, some of them in the Atlantic Theater, some of them in the Pacific.”
The park is also named after Joseph McGuiness, another World War II veteran.
“After the war was over,” Griffin recalled, “there was a group of veterans who came back to Jersey City, who really wanted to remember the service of their friends and their neighbors. So they formed an American Legion post.” They established the post in a store front on West Side Avenue.
“I was here the day the first park was dedicated,” Griffin said. “The American Legion decided they would have a special procession along West Side Avenue and up Duncan, laying the wreath here. And it has been here ever since.”
A combination of funds
Like many parks in Jersey City and throughout Hudson County, part of its price tag was paid through a grant from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund, instituted by County Executive Tom DeGise in the early 2000s.
“This park is part of a $6 million investment made last year towards expanding open space in Jersey City,” said Mayor Fulop, who helped cut the ribbon on the expanded park. “We had to combine some bonding with some existing funding in order to make sure this became an active and passive park that seniors and children can enjoy. This is also in an area of the city that’s in need of open space.”
The park was designed by Brian Weller, an architect who works with the city on a variety of open space projects.
The West Side is the best side?
Councilman Khemraj “Chico” Ramchal, who previously served as an aide to Councilman Donnelly, said he has been focused on completing this park since taking office in 2013. He also said Donnelly asked for his commitment to finish the park.
Ramchal said the park is part of a general revitalization of the West Side of Jersey City that includes the construction of a new supermarket and residential development.
“This really will make the West Side the best side of Jersey City.”
The park is designed to serve the various generations that make up the area, including young children and senior citizens.
The new Boyd-McGuiness Park includes a tot play area, a spray ground, community garden beds, game tables, various seating areas, lighting, and a natural stone amphitheater and stage.
Burke said future uses could include live performances and a farmers market.
A Friends of Boyd-McGuiness Park group has been established to help with park upkeep.
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.