Friendship Park rededicated under Northside 2027

Neighborhoods, Northside 2027, Serious Issues 1 Minute

(the latest in a series of posts on Northside 2027 and Neighborhoods)

“There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil.
The triumph of anything is a matter of organization.”
(Kurt Vonnegut)

Nicole Radzievich, “Always want a tree house? Check out the newest amusement at Bethlehem’s Friendship Park.” Morning Call, July 2, 2019.

Kurt Bresswein, “Bethlehem’s newest playground has a 1st for a city park.” lehighvalleylive.com, July 2, 2019.

Friendship Park was rededicated Tuesday, the first step in the Northside 2027 project, whose roots go back four or five years. As Vonnegut says, and as Gadfly loves to quote, “the triumph of anything is a matter of organization.” We see the first fruits of that organization here.

“Our future goals at all of our parks are to promote more green space, benches, and trails for all of our residents to enjoy.” (Recreation Director Jodi Evans)

“This is really what neighborhoods are about. . . . To have a park come back to life like this really attracts middle-class families.” (Mayor Robert Donchez)

“This [Northside 2027] is what a comprehensive approach looks like. It is about playgrounds, it is about recreation, but it’s also about services for the neighborhood, it’s about our neighborhood public achools, it’s about economic development, it’s about walkability. . . . [This playground] needs to stand as an example of what happens when everybody does their little part. (Councilman Willie Reynolds)

“How can a city government build a sense of community? I think it’s by investing in attractive, safe public spaces that bring residents together.”  (Anna Smith, Director, Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley)

Gadfly, who always has a ball in the car in case a court needs christening, was chosen to make sure the baskets worked and to provide entertainment. Here he is shown performing his signature “flying ball” trick.

Tip o’ the hat to the City! Good luck, Friendshippers!

Published by The Bethlehem Gadfly

Edward J. Gallagher, Bethlehem immigrant, retired, nearly 50 years as Professor of American Literature at Lehigh University, known as "Dr. G" and "Conan the Grammarian" to students, whose virtual world avatar "EdwardScholarhands" stares at you here, has reinvented himself as the Bethlehem Gadfly.

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One thought on “Friendship Park rededicated under Northside 2027”

  1. This looks great.

    The news article mentions a ‘pour-in-place surface that’s springy underfoot’, but doesn’t say any more about it. Does anyone know what this is made of? Synthetic turf fields are associated with a number of serious health and safety concerns that do not seem to be considered by the municipalities, schools, and colleges & universities that install them. The new surface may be safer if a child falls, but what happens when it starts to wear or degrade and produce toxic particles from whatever it’s made of?

    Did anyone at the City demand independent studies on these questions, or did they accept the claims from the competing vendors?

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