Essex County recently began major renovations to two of the three main playgrounds in the Ironbound (in Independence Park and Riverbank Park) without any notice or input from Ironbound residents. The County has said these renovations will take six months to complete, virtually eliminating neighborhood playground space for Summer/Fall in an area where 50,000+ people live. These parks serve thousands of children (including local daycares) and, unlike other Newark neighborhoods where people have private lawns, these playgrounds are often the only safe green spaces for our children to play.

At Independence Park, signs stating renovations would begin on May 12th were not posted until construction started, giving no notice to children and families who were excited to use the park just as the weather was turning warm. Similarly, it appears little or no notice was given for the Riverbank renovations.

The total lack of communication and input, poorly chosen timing, and the combination of both playgrounds being disrupted at the same time is unacceptable and sends a message to Newark families and children that they are not deserving of Essex County's respect and consideration.

We demand the following:

1. Speedy completion of all current Ironbound playground renovations;

2. Regular progress updates about the renovations (on the Essex County website);

3. Notice of at least 2 months and an opportunity for meaningful community input for any future Newark park renovations;

4. Consideration for the realities of our community (e.g. lack of green space, number of children impacted, etc.) in the planning of future renovations; and

5. Temporary/removable play activities (similar to those in Military Park) to mitigate the lack of playground space (e.g. large movable blocks, etc.).

Sincerely,