Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC eNewsletter
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Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC eNewsletter |
| Summer 2009 |
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Nat Turner Park Scores Giant Win for Newark Kids
The opening of Nat Turner Park and its new athletic field on July 28, 2009, represented the third community athletic field in Newark to benefit from LISC's NFL Grassroots Program investments. Greater Newark and Jersey City LISC and the New York Giants joined the Trust for Public Land (TPL), Mayor Corey Booker, the Newark Public Schools, donors and several hundred youth and community residents to celebrate the development of this important community asset. Nat Turner is a sprawling oasis of recreational space located on nine acres in the Central Wards Springfield Community, and constitutes the largest city park in Newark. Named after the American slave Nat Turner who in 1831 led a slave revolt in Virginia, the park will serve 19,000 people living within a half-mile of the park, including 7,000 children. The $10 million community designed project includes an amphitheater, multi-purpose synthetic turf field, a regulation sized running track, a playground, picnic areas, walking and biking paths and 200 new trees. In addition, it boasts the inclusion of community inspired and driven artwork which included metalwork frames at entrances created by a local Newark artist and 150 tiles featuring designs created by the children and adults from the community.
Over the last decade, the NFL Grassroots Program, a partnership between the National Football League's Youth Football Fund, the NFL Players Association and LISC, has joined with local teams to provide $25million of support for football, soccer and other sports fields all over the country. Locally, the partnership with the New York Giants has provided $555,000 including $200,000 for the Nat Turner Park athletic field. The new turf field will be utilized nearly year-round for both football and soccer. The field will be home for the athletic program at the newly built Central High School located directly opposite to the field. Following the ribbon cutting, Mayor Booker and Giants former player Tiki Barber completed the inaugural football toss.
LISC President and CEO Michael Rubinger noted, "Recreational space like this is critical to communities. This park is joined to the schools that border it, and the bustle of the local commercial strip, and the new affordable housing nearby, and the growing number of jobs being created. By connecting them all, the city has laid the foundation for a healthy, sustainable community." Other major funders include:
Save the Date!7th Annual New Jersey Neighborhood Achievement Awards
Newark LISC in partnership with PNC Bank host the 7th Annual New Jersey Neighborhood Achievement Awards Thursday, November 5, 2009. The event honors champions of community development across the state who have creating industry-leading, innovative programs, which make urban neighborhoods sustainable places to live, do business, and raise a family. Thursday, November 5, 2009 Please RSVP by Friday, October 23, 2009
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Please send questions or comments to plee@lisc.org
Greater Newark & Jersey City LISC -- 17 Academy Street, Suite 912, Newark, NJ 07102 |
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Download an overview of the LISC NFL Grassroots Program