Franklin Square Blog

On February 27th, employees from Sports Basement came out to show their love for their home field and give back to the community. If you'd like to participate in their effort to keep the field in great shape, visit www.friendsoffranklinsquare.org/playfield or email Richard Sloan at sloangroup@gmail.com

The Mission now has a new playground! Three years in the making, the new Franklin Square playground features a climbing structure for older kids, two sets of swings, and a set of reptilian climbing rocks for children. The grand opening of the playground was on May 16th. Come check out this new attraction at 17th and Bryant!

On March 24th, 2009, the Friends of Franklin Square held a community meeting to discuss the future of their park. Park group members David Maltz and Antje Kahn gave an update on the playground renovation, discussing details of the opening and asking folks to help with planning the day. Peter Samuels, a new member of the group discussed a proposal for a dog play area at the park. Matthew Silva from the Neighborhood Parks Council discussed playfield stewardship efforts. Finally, David Maltz presented on proposals for further renovations to the park, including the restoration of a mosaic art piece and creating a new mid-block entrance on 16th street.

An informal discussion followed the presentations, where attendees shared ideas and discussed courses of action. The group emerged enthusiastic about all the proposed improvements to the park, and folks were especially excited to plan monthly volunteer days at the park once the playground opens in May. Stay tuned to more information on how you can participate in these efforts. Also, visit the Friends of Franklin Square website here.

A special thank you to Sports Basement for letting us have the meeting in their space!

On Wednesday, March 18th, a group of youth from the Build On program led a cleanup day at Franklin Square. Youth were joined by park users who spontaneously joined in to keep their park looking great. One hour and 5 full trash bags later, Franklin Square was in top shape, ready to be enjoyed by passers-by. Click here to see photos from the day. A special thanks to Sara Guillermo and Tom Silverman from Build On for co-hosting this workday!

On Saturday, February 21st, mentors and mentees from the 7 Tepees Youth Program came out to Franklin Square  to help clean up and beautify their neighborhood park. This workday was part of the Neighborhood Parks Council's (NPC) City Playfields Initiative, a partnership between NPC, the City Fields Foundation, and the Recreation and Park Department. Enjoy the video above, and feel free to contact us if you'd like more information.Also, you can click here to sign up for our email list.