Neighbors a ‘rec’ over cuts

Claude Porter is hoping to start a job this summer at Chew Playground and Pool.

It would be a very special job for the 14-year-old from the 1500 block of South Taney Street — because it would be his first, said his mother, Regina.

Her 8-year-old son Devante loves to play basketball, swim and attend summer camp at Chew, 19th Street and Washington Avenue, as does her 10-year-old daughter, Turquoise.

But if Mayor John Street’s administration gets its way and closes some 25 recreation centers and pools, the Porter siblings will be kids out of water this summer.

And so will hundreds of others.

In an attempt to reconcile the city’s $227-million deficit, the city has put a number of services, including the recreation centers, on the chopping block.

Rec closures alone will save the city $4 million, according to Street’s budget plan.

"It was supposed to be open this summer, now they want to close it down," Regina Porter said of Chew. "It’s only three months. They can’t give us money for three months for our kids? Why is it that the little people are always the hardest hit?"

As of Monday, eight of the 25 recreation facilities on the mayor’s hit list were in South Philly. Aside from Chew, those targeted for possible closure are Wharton Square, 23rd and Wharton streets; Lanier, 29th and Tasker streets; Smith, 2100 S. 24th St.; Donald Finnegan, 30th and Wharton; Sacks, Fourth Street and Washington Avenue; Weccacoe, Fourth and Catharine streets; and Ford, Seventh Street and Snyder Avenue.

And according to City Council President Anna Verna, that tally isn’t complete.

"We are still waiting for the final list," she said Monday. Recreation Department Commissioner Victor Richard was to have supplied that list at last Thursday’s City Council meeting, said Verna. Instead, the commissioner supplied a list that was half-typed and half-handwritten, the Council president said.

Chew, Lanier, Wharton Square, Smith and Finnegan fall in Verna’s Second Council District.

Finnegan — a small community building with one part-time employee — wouldn’t seem to be a drain on the city, Verna said.

In recent years, the Finnegan family has donated some 500 books to the center, she noted.

"I don’t think a part-timer really makes that much money, and if they were to close the building, in my view, it would become a drug haven and become vandalized," the Council president said.

As for Smith, Richard recommended its closure because his department said the pool is "underutilized," Verna said. She added residents who frequent the pool have told her another story.

Overcrowded conditions have required pool users to sign up for designated swim times, Verna said. The Council president is asking Richard to provide utilization logs to back up his claim. Those logs, along with a finalized list of recreation site closures, will be brought before Council in the coming weeks, said Verna.

The recreation commissioner has suggested that children who currently swim at Chew pool could simply make the switch to the Marian Anderson Recreation Center pool at 17th and Fitzwater, Verna said. But to do that, youngsters would have to cross Washington Avenue, and she said she doesn’t consider that a safe or viable option.

With five centers on the list of closures, Point Breeze would be among the areas hardest hit. And some of its residents aren’t taking the bad news sitting down.

Tiffany Green, a member of the Smith Recreation Playground Advisory Council, organized a rally Friday afternoon at Broad and Washington.

Dozens of children and their families — including Regina Porter and her kids — carried signs and chanted, "Keep our recs open. Heck, no, we won’t go! What do we want? Recreation."

With megaphone in one hand and a "Save the recs" sign in the other, Green shouted, "We supported Mayor Street, now we want his support to keep these centers open. Where is Governor Rendell?"

Citing the pending closure of five rec centers in Point Breeze alone, Green said she feels the African-American community is being unfairly targeted.

"The staff at these centers will be transferred to other facilities. So what’s the real reason they’re being closed?" she posed.

Francine Kennedy and her friend LaCretia Fluellen watched the demonstration with their children. The women grew up in Point Breeze and recalled spending their youth at local playgrounds and recreation centers. Kennedy, who lives at 18th and Ellsworth, had hoped her 2-month-old son Quentin could do the same.

Fluellen’s four children — ages 4, 7, 8 and 17 — frequent Chew and Wharton Square playgrounds.

"We need someplace for the kids to go to give them something to do — otherwise they have idle hands," Kennedy said.

"Otherwise, they hit the street," added Fluellen.

Several others echoed Fluellen’s fear.

"The children will wind up in the street and in jail," Porter contended.

"We don’t want the bad guys to take over these kids," said Clark Johnson, a 65-year-old Vietnam veteran who lives at 19th and Latona. Johnson maintains the pool during the summer. Veterans swim in the pool two nights a week, he noted, and the pool has employed many local youths as lifeguards, giving them a productive way to spend their free time.

The Urban Leadership Council, an umbrella group that includes local civic organizations, has joined the crusade to rescue the recs. Reginald C. Noble, the executive vice president of the group and chairman of its board, attended Friday’s rally to show his support. Green is also on the Urban Leadership Council’s board.

"If the city of Philadelphia can float a $122-million bond to build a school in Alabama, and give a half-billion for business and a million to the Chamber of Commerce over the next three years to increase tourism, why can’t we take care of our children and keep these rec centers open?" Noble posed. "Close the rec centers, the drug dealers got ’em."

The First Council District is poised for 10 recreation closures; locally, those include Sacks, Weccacoe and Ford.

First District Councilman Frank DiCicco said Monday that he would agree to close some of the 10 centers and transfer others to civic or community organizations. The Department of Recreation is open to alternatives to closure, noted the councilman.

Ford Rec is in the process of becoming a fully certified Police Athletic League center, said DiCicco.

In recent weeks, the councilman has met with community groups and concerned residents who want Weccacoe and Sacks to remain open.

"I believe in the process of exploring all possibilities and ideas and then seeing how the community will accept or reject it," he said.

Queen Village Neighbors Association has expressed interest in moving its offices to the Weccacoe playground building, DiCicco said. But before that can happen, the neighborhood association must learn whether it can float insurance liability and maintenance of the property, added the councilman.

Eileen Bunch, of the 1200 block of South Marshall Street, serves on the newly formed advisory council of Sacks Playground and is co-chair of Friends of Goldstar Park.

She contends that the Department of Recreation has done little in recent years to maintain Sacks, which serves a burgeoning community that includes the newly constructed Jefferson Square development and the Courtyard Apartments at Riverview. Latino soccer leagues, softball, basketball and swimming are a handful of activities that take place at Sacks, noted Bunch.

"It would be just such a slap in the face to so many people in the neighborhood if it were to close," she said. "With all the new construction in the neighborhood, we should not be talking about closing this rec center — we should be talking about ways to improve it."

Several weeks ago, DiCicco met with Bunch and members of the Friends of Jefferson Square Park to discuss options. The meeting came after the neighborhood civic organization sent the councilman a letter opposing the pending closure.

"I told them I don’t support Sacks being closed in any way, shape or form," DiCicco said.

But one reason the Department of Recreation has called for its closure is that the pool costs around $70,000 to maintain, noted the councilman.

A proposal to install a water-park facility at Sacks Playground is currently afloat. The park would be an interactive area with fountains and waterspouts for children. Unlike pools, water parks are low-maintenance and require no lifeguards, said DiCicco.

Public hearings on the citywide recreation center closings will take place May 10 at 2:30 p.m. in City Council chambers, Room 400 in City Hall. Green, who organized last Friday’s rally, said a citywide rally is planned for that day outside City Hall.

"This is very, very difficult," said Council President Verna. "I do feel sorry for the youngsters. Where will they go if the centers close?"