Miami Herald-Posted on Fri, May. 30, 2008

Wynwood residents oppose park improvement plan
BY LAURA MORALES

At Wynwood's run-down Roberto Clemente Park, the Dorothy Quintana Community Center has sat, dilapidated and closed, for three years.

Members of the activist group Miami Workers Center and several Wynwood-based community service groups met at the park Thursday to announce the creation of the Roberto Clemente Coalition to Reclaim Our Park.

Their purpose: to demand that Commissioner Marc Sarnoff and City Manager Pete Hernandez reconsider Miami's plan to rebuild the Quintana center and refurbish the park to include more of the things Wynwood residents have said they need there.

The coalition is starting a petition drive in the neighborhood. Many area businesses also have signed on to the group's effort.

''We've suggested they look for more funds in the revenues the city gets from things like Midtown Miami and Art Basel, which even holds events at the park,'' said Workers Center organizer Sara Portillo. ``So why not?''

The group is still waiting for an answer to that question. Portillo said the group wrote a letter to Sarnoff, whose district includes the section of Wynwood where the park is located, on May 16.

''I spoke to Bert Gonzalez, but all he said was that they received the letter and that Sarnoff was out of town,'' she said. Sarnoff did not respond to requests for comment.

Plans shown to activists and residents at a March 11 meeting include a 7,000-square-foot community center to replace the old one. It will house the Wynwood Neighborhood Enhancement Team office, two meeting rooms, a computer lab, a homework room for kids and a permanent exhibit honoring Clemente, a former Pittsburgh Pirates star who was killed in 1972.

Residents were upset that a swimming pool or library, which they believe would serve the area better than a new roof over the park's basketball court, nor a second recreation building were included in the plan. They also want the park's baseball field spruced up.

At the March meeting, Hernandez said the budget for the new center is $1.8 million and the city can't afford to add other features like a pool or library, both of which residents say would be well-used by neighbors. Capital Improvements director Ola Aluko told attendees that demolition of the old center would start by June, with work completion by summer 2009.

''Despite our efforts, we don't see any progress. The city must listen to the needs of the community,'' said Raul Martinez, head of the social and educational services program ASPIRA.

Carmen Garca, a 20-year Wynwood resident, said it saddens her to see the park and center in such a state. ''We deserve a park that's safe, beautiful and green as can be,'' she said.

Aventura city commissioner Luz Weinberg, who calls herself ''a product of the ASPIRA program,'' is supporting the activists.

''The community isn't asking for that much,'' Weinberg said. ``In Aventura we take community input very seriously. To tell these people that it's just too late is disrespectful.''

Portillo said the group will keep trying to meet with Sarnoff. They also will ask the city to include local laborers, businesses and contractors in the park's refurbishment work and to ensure community control over park programming and management, she added.