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Nelson in the News - September, 2004
Taking it back - Neighbors refuse to allow park to fall into wrong hands
By Robert C. Burns
 Summer was just getting started, but Dollie Hippchen already had had enough.
Near her house, the small children's playground on Monroe Street, between Fourth and Fifth streets, had been taken over by teens and twenty somethings. They were using it as a place to drink, gamble, smoke pot and plot revenge against their rivals.
"They use the most terrible language," says Hippchen, of 325 Houston.
Smaller children were rarely seen despite the brightly colored playground equipment waiting for them. Hippchen discovered that many parents in the neighborhood had forbidden their youngsters to go there at any time of day.
So during the second week of July, Hippchen and several others did what needed to be done.
They sat down.
We beat 'em to the benches," she said. "We'd show up around 7 every night, seven days a week for three solid weeks, and we took the place back."
Their time at the park led to even more improvements. When not picking up litter from the previous night, members of the group devoted their time to planting flowers and playing with young children who have started coming back.
Hippchen's small group includes Gregory and Angelique Laws, 1231 Fifth; Harriet Bennett, 1180 Fourth; and Sally James, 1257 Fifth.
All five live where they can view the park from inside their homes. And they don't hesitate to call 911 whenever they see suspicious activity.
The small group has worked hand-in-hand with city police, requesting politely that
they enforce the laws against loitering, underage drinking, and gambling, the 11 pm
closing hour for city parks and the 11 pm curfew for those 16 and under. Hippchen
is a current member of the Citizens Police Review Board.
 The city's Leisure Services Department erected a large sign there, clearly stating
the park rules.
Although the modern playground equipment is clearly designed for the younger set,
Hippchen said she and others in the group have no objection to having older kids
using the park. She just wants them to obey the rules, don't break the law, and
watch their language.
The effort appears to have accomplished some of what it was intended to do. It has
worked so well, it seems, that some have started complaining to the city commission
that there's no place in the neighborhood for the teenagers to go, without the
police chasing them out.
But it's not over yet. Hippchen said she is building a list of volunteers willing
to devote two hours at the park next year, so there will always be a grown-up around
to play with the children and watch over things between 2:30 and 8:30 pm.
She also is trying to encourage parents of young children to take-rather than
send - their children there to play.
She and other like-minded Nelson neighborhood neighbors want to show others how to
start up block clubs of their own.
"It's important that people take possession of their neighborhoods and turn them
around," Hippchen said. "You can't just sit back and watch. If you just let people
come in and destroy your community, that will happen."
"We are presently organizing the next block, towards Third," she said. "And I hear
the people on Fourth Street are having some problems."
The park was created from a parking lot belonging to St. Joseph's Catholic Church
across the street. The landmark church was built in 1883 and demolished in 2001.
The park won't be unnamed for long. Hippchen submitted 120 signatures to the city
asking for it to be named St. Joseph's Park. The city's Leisure Services Board
agreed, and the city commission is expected to act on the request formally at its
next meeting Sept 14.
And with financial help with the local Neighborhood Investment Corp., there are
plans to expand the park towards Fifth Street.
Hippchen said the park needed a name, something more official than "Dollie's Park,"
which is what it's known by informally. St. Joseph's was the logical choice, but
not because it might have the effect of discouraging sinful behavior.
"It's just that so many families attended that church. I thought it would be nice
to have a memorial to it."
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