Newark breaks ground on two-acre Broadway Park after six-year preparation
Newark and the Trust for Public Land broke ground July 4 on Broadway Park, a planned two-acre public green space in the city’s North Ward.
The park is planned for a site between Broadway and Oraton Street, next to Luis Muñoz Marín Elementary School. The property had been unused since the early 1980s, according to the City of Newark.
A project intended for nearby residents
The city said more than 7,000 residents live within a 10-minute walk of the future park. That figure is a city and project estimate, rather than a count of expected park users.
The groundbreaking marks the start of a planned conversion of the unused property into recreational public open space. The announcement does not mean the park is open; it identifies the project as a planned park following the July 4 construction milestone.
The location beside Luis Muñoz Marín Elementary School places the project near a school community as well as surrounding North Ward homes. The city said the effort involved neighborhood organizations, schools, the Newark Police Division’s 2nd Precinct and city departments.
Six years of preparation
City officials said the project followed six years of preparation. Newark and the Trust for Public Land were the organizations named in the July 4 groundbreaking announcement.
Funding support includes the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres Program and the PARC Foundation, according to the city. The announcement did not provide a construction budget.
It also did not identify the final park amenities or give an expected completion date. As a result, the next confirmed milestone is the start signaled by the groundbreaking, while the timetable for construction and a public opening has not been announced in the available city information.
What is known now
Broadway Park is a two-acre planned project, not a completed facility. Its stated service area is the neighborhood within a 10-minute walk, where the city says more than 7,000 residents live.
For residents near Broadway and Oraton Street, the project represents a planned new use for land that has not been in use since the early 1980s. Further details on construction timing, costs and amenities have not been released in the city announcement.
Sources
- Mayor Baraka breaks ground for Broadway Park, City of Newark, New Jersey
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