The debate in Neahwa Park

The current debate raging around planned changes to Neahwa Park really demonstrates the role a great park plays in the life of a community. You will find that people who grew up in Oneonta but have long since moved away are still passionate about 'their park.'

I thought I would post part of an email I received tonight from a friend who met with the mayor and other concerned citizens tonight to discuss the issue:

"I spent an hour and a half of my evening in Neahwa Park listening to the great debate of 'trees verses Veterans'. For those of you that were not aware that such a debate was afoot in the city of the hills let me fill you in. The Veteran's Memorial Walk is planned to transform War Memorial Drive from a vehicular roadway into a Memorial Walkway. The new pedestrian promenade will give prominence to the host of historical markers and memorials that surround Hodges Pond. The project will include improvements to existing memorials, the planting of trees, construction of a gazebo, expansion of parking areas, and new paved and brick walkways along the south side of the pond. In the process of this planned transformation about twenty or so trees would meet their demise. This has angered a lot of citizens, who spoke out tonight, which in turn angered many of the assembled Veterans, who felt the opponents did not see the great sacrifice that Veterans have made. And so the banter continued back and forth, with one very memorable elderly woman asking the Mayor 'what’s wrong with the way it is now?' One thing is for sure, it was a discussion from many different points of view."

"As I listened to both sides, it occurred to me that I was not viewing this from either side (tree friend or veteran). Although I am a twenty-year veteran of the US Navy, I was looking at the fiscal responsibility of the city government. Don't we have existing infrastructure or facilities in the park that nearly four hundred thousand dollars might be better spent on?"

Think about the happiest memories of your childhood. Do they center around a specific place? If you had to choose, which places would you preserve for the next generation and would you change them in any way? Importantly, do you feel there are enough such spaces today?