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SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCILCouncilor Justin Hurst36 COURT STREET SPRINGFIELD, MA 01103 (413)787-6170 FAX (413)787-6833PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, April 1, 2021 Contact: Justin Hurst, City Council (413) 374-5844, justinhurstace@City Councilor Justin Hurst calls on Mayor Sarno to Clean and Secure the Acorn Street Park Tennis Courts.City Councilor Justin Hurst calls on Mayor Sarno to clean and secure the Acorn Street Park Tennis Courts! For years, Springfield residents and more importantly our young people who attend the Boys and Girls Club Family Center have had to look at this eyesore every day as though no one cares about their community. These tennis courts are on city park land and have been neglected for years while millions are spent yearly to beautify parks in other communities. “Our city has not been a good neighbor…not to AIC, not to area residents and certainly not to the Boys and Girls Club Family Center. If this cite were owned by any business, non-profit, or private citizen, then they would have been fined repeatedly by the city, had a lien placed on their property, and the land would have been taken over by a receiver. We cannot possibly expect more of others than we expect from ourselves and the dilapidated condition of the tennis courts in Acorn Street Park over this many years is a prime example of that,” Councilor Hurst stated. Over 200 people have signed a petition to repair the Acorn Street Park Tennis Courts led by Ward 4 residents Devin Streeter and Jynai McDonald. In addition, they have submitted an application to the Community Preservation Board requesting funding to bring this project to fruition. It has also garnered the support of the Bay Area Neighborhood Council. The community is clearly frustrated by a history of inaction and abandonment that has turned this site into a safety hazard and dumping ground. Councilor Hurst added, “While Community Preservation funding would go a long way, the immediate cleaning and securing of the property must be a priority. The current condition lends itself to crime, drug activity and illegal dumping. Additionally, an unattended open gate to these tennis courts covered in weeds inevitably opens the city up to unnecessary liability. Anyone, including myself, who has ever attended the Family Center will acknowledge that the current conditions of the tennis courts are a disgrace and taint the many positive memories that most of us have of the Family Center that we use to attend. I also know that Mayor Sarno would never let the tennis courts at Van Horn Park in Ward 2, Forest Park in Ward 6, or Nathan Bills in Ward 7 look like those that currently exist at Acorn Street Park in Ward 4. The residents of Ward 4 deserve better!” ................
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