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Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Opens Norwood Park Playground Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Opens Norwood Park Playground

By Danyell Monk

A group of people stand in a line holding a red ribbon. It the middle of the line, a child and Mayor Ben Walsh hold a large pair of scissors and cut the ribbon. In the background are trees and the park.
© 2022 Danyell Monk

CROWD:
Three, two, one! Alright! (applause and cheering)

DANYELL MONK:
City leaders and community members celebrated Wednesday morning as Mayor Ben Walsh and a young park-goer cut the ribbon to the renovated Norwood Park Playground. A change was needed to the playground as previous fixtures were outdated and unsafe. Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs, Julie LaFave, says children played a large role in selecting new equipment.

JULIE LAFAVE:
The kids wanted, you can see there’s a climbing unit. They wanted, they said, to get closer to the trees above them.

MONK:
Children got right to playing even before the ceremony began. Common Council Member at Large, Rasheada Caldwell, remembers enjoying the park when she was a child.

RASHEADA CALDWELL:
The good memories I have I want to keep creating good memories for our kids. In 20 years I want the next kids to feel this way.

MONK:
The park now has features for people of all ages to enjoy. In Eastwood, Danyell Monk, N-C-C News.

EASTWOOD N.Y. (NCC News) — Norwood Park Playground had it’s official opening Wednesday morning with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Commissioner of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs,  Julie LaFave, said the park’s renovations were possible due to money that had been put aside for Eastwood. 150-thousand dollars were committed towards the Norwood Park project.

“We actually did a months long engagement and people were allowed to come. We went to different parks and we talked to users. We asked their opinions on what features they want to see,” said LaFave.

Syracuse Common Counselor At-Large, Rasheada Caldwell, said that she hopes that the community continues to engage as more Syracuse parks are updated. She also wants to make sure the main users of the playgrounds are getting their say.

“Our youth have to play a part in this. We can’t continue to build things for them and they’re not a part of it. They have to have a voice,” said Caldwell.

Eastwood Neighborhood Association President, Jimmy Monto, said that this project has been long awaited. Over the last month since renovations have been completed, he has seen many people at the playground already.

“Eastwood as a whole has seen an increase in younger families with children so we hope that we’ll see a lot of activity around here,” said Monto.

LaFave said that Norwood park still has some work to be done.

“What we’re going to do next is we are going to remove the backstops because baseball is not really in this park anymore, it’s football. The backstops have just become a way for trash to accumulate so we’re going to beautify it that way,” said LaFave.

The Eastwood Grizzlies Football Team is also putting in a scoreboard for the field.

The new playground at Norwood Park can be found at 393 Ashdale Ave.

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