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Thursday, May 15, 2008

Plainfield mayor tacks into more trouble?




Replacement for Roberto Clemente Playground,
under construction earlier this year.


After Plainfielders learned yesterday that the Robinson-Briggs administration couldn't get a simple press release out ahead of time about the
Statewide Double Dutch contest of May 3, today's Ledger brings us news -- via a press release -- that the Mayor will be cutting a ribbon at the refurbished Madison Avenue playground. 11:00 AM, TODAY. (See more here.)

Interesting coincidence that word was gotten out AHEAD OF TIME this time around.

In sailboating, they call it tacking -- veering from one direction to another to make way against a headwind.

The city's press release indicates renovations include, besides recreational equipment, landscaping and new sidewalks and curbs, AN EXPANDED PARKING LOT.

The playgournd project was originally promised by the McWilliams administration as part of an agreement with the state over the Park-Madison redevelopment project, in which the former 'Roberto Clemente Playground' was lost to the new County parking deck.

As part of an agreement (sealed by a resolution of the City Council) between the City and the State, a playground area was to be constructed on the block bounded by Madison and Central Avenues to replace the lost one -- AND PARKING THERE WAS TO BE REDUCED TO HELP OFFSET THE LOSS OF OPEN SPACE by the Park-Madison County office building project.



The City set aside parking for a projected condo project,
which is as yet unrealized.


So, now we have the City touting the EXPANSION OF PARKING, which would probably be in violation of the agreement the City signed with the State and the ROSI, or state inventory of open space in the community.

Not to mention that -- in an increasingly Hispanic neighborhood -- all mention of Hispanic sports hero Roberto Clemente, who had been honored by the earlier playground, is dropped. Why is that?

Veering from one direction to another hardly seems to be moving the Robinson-Briggs administration forward.

Is it tacking, or perhaps 'tackying'?


-- Dan Damon

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Mayor is a female Charlie McCarthy without humor. The mouthpiece probably can supply the answer

Anonymous said...

It is sad when you have a Public Relations department that does not know its job.

Again Laurence Rice and all the other pretenders who claim to have experience in PR need the boot -if you don not know your job you need a new one!

Anonymous said...

Pathetic. Let's all remember this, and vote in Annie and Adrian to start getting some change in this town, and then onward to putting in a non-Green mayor.