The Summer Issue is here at last!
Posted by: Noel Jones
THE WEST WORD Summer Issue is now available to read on line. Just click "Downloadable Documents" on the right side bar of this home page to read the pdf version!
Featuring stories about the EASD, the proposed skate park, our community gardens, three West Ward neighbors, local West Ward businesses and more. Also available in local businesses around Easton and beyond--pass it around!
Posts
11 comments:
Correction - Lower Hackett Park, site of the proposed skate park is in Easton, now Wilson. The entire park is in Easton, annexed many years ago when it was donated. Why would Easton agree to build a park in Wilson?
Annexed? When did that happen? The park would have to touch the city to be annexed. Where exactly does it touch the city?
When you post anonymously you sacrifice being respected as a person of authority.
I don't agree. Hackett Park, upper and lower, are outside of the city of Easton. The only agreement Easton has with Wilson and Palmer concerns our police officer's ability to patrol that park as well as Hugh Moore Park.
Lower Hackett Park is addressed at 1913 Wood Avenue, Wilson Boro on the Northampton County Assessment Site. The property is located in Wilson Boro according to the assessment map.
Anon. therefore you are not a person of authority either. Call C8ty Hall and ask for the corporate map. Hackett both upper and lower are in the corporate boundaries of the city. It was annexed to the city when the city had annexation rights.
The same is true of Hugh Noore Park which stretches through several municipalities
Regardless of the legal title, one must leave the City of Easton, travel through another municipality-Wilson Boro and/or Palmer to get to Hackett Park.
The Hackett family gave this tract to the city. Initially the city invested little in the park. The upper drive, pavilion, and memorial park were built with donations. The Hackett family had hoped the park would be used for a municipal golf course and community pool. Because the park was located away from the city, the ideas never caught. When 22 was built Easton received payments which led to construction of athletic fields and other improvements in the park.
Hackett was not the only park given to the city. Hugh Moore donated Lehigh Navigation and
Coal property along the Lehigh which stretched through a number of municipalities. That park was later named for Moore. The Henry estate gave the city a tract of land 12 miles north of Easton for park land. Easton gave that property to the state and it is known as Jacobsburg State Park.
In answer to the first post Easton never really went out to build this park. It was given the land and private donations initially developed the upper park. The lower park was developed by a local service club.
What is all this nonsense?
You are all posting anonymously so stop calling each other out over anonymous posts and who is or isn't authoritative.
Facts: Easton owns Hackett Park- upper and lower. It is a contiguous piece of property that runs from Wood Avenue in Wilson, due north into Palmer and stradles Rt 22. Doesn't matter what municiplaity it touches or how you get to it. County tax records give property addresses and have nothing to do with ownership. It is Easton property.
Move on to something worth talking about.
DRL
I grew up on Bushkill, played in the streets. The kids still play in the streets.
There were no playgrounds except for the school at 12th. There was an old tennis court that became a makeshift baseball field. My father told me that sections of the West Ward were set aside for park space decades ago. But private interests won out and the spaces were sold for development.
I complained years ago about recreation for our kids. I said that the city has only thrown us discarded lots hardly big enough for a baseball game or football game. Finally, the school district took the old tennis courts for temporary classrooms. (They don’t need the classrooms; they should give the lot back to the kids)
I was told that the West Wards had Hackett park. I found and still find the comment offensive. South Side and College Hill have their parks. West Ward residents are expected to travel a half mile outside of the city to a park that really meets regional needs, not community needs. An Easton park, hardly.
Someone suggested that the Bushkill project be about providing recreation space for our kids. That idea has been lost. More about space for our dogs. They can relieve themselves on all the art work.
If the West Wards are to be a real community, it has to convince the city to take recreation seriously. We need a decent size park. That means ripping down some buildings. Without that investment, the West Wards are a joke-not a place to live and not a place to raise kids.
You want to believe Hackett Park is part of the city, then go up there some night, and you will see a lot of non-city people using it. Meanwhile our kids still ride their bikes, skateboard and play in our streets. Next time you see a kid, tell him to take a long walk and play at Hackett. It is part of the city, you know.
I think we have established here that a) the Hacketts parks are technically owned by Easton, b) they are physically inconvenient to get to for Easton residents and c) Easton residents would like to have more green space within city limits.
I am hoping that when the two river parks and the bushkill trail are done, that residents will use green spaces fully. We are a river town--it will be nice if we start looking and living like one, with lots of people jogging, walking dogs, riding bikes along the river, fishing, boating...I've already noticed more activity on the waterfront and the construction isn't even finished yet...
Anon@1:44pm...
It is an interesting point that you will see people from many other communities using the recreational facilities that are technically Easton property. Of course, we want people to use these spaces because in most cases it brings people into the city (Hackett being an exception). There is really no legal way to keep them out, just as anyone from Easton visiting another city on vacation might take advantage of the opportunities they may present.
The new Bushkill Creek Corridor will offer amenities that again will be shared with neighboring communities as will the Riverside Park when it is completed. This begs the question; what value do these city amenities have to the surrounding communities and - more importantly - how do we capture that value to benefit Easton?
There has long been a muffled voice to regionalize the tax base beyond just the school tax, the revenue of which is narrowly focused. Perhaps a broader clear understanding of the benefits cities provide to their surrounding suburban communities needs to be fully advanced and in some way converted into financial benefits.
This will allow city and suburb to reinforce each other's strengths and compete together as a regional economic force rather than the continued bad-mouthing that usually exists between entities that should be partners.
DRL
Facts do not require an authority - they are demonstrably true or false - they can be proven irregardless of any authority and in the absence of any authority. On the other hand an opinion is always just a point of view and can not be proven. Too bad in this day and age even journalists who first lesson used to be about distinguishing objective and subjective statements no longer seem to know the difference. Not knowing the difference degrades public discourse. It is my opinion that anonymous posting is perfectly honorable as long as you are not attacking another person by name.
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