CITY TRIES TO SNATCH BACK FRUITVALE PARKS FROM DRUG DEALERS, GANGS

Oakland Opening New Play Spaces, Renovating Old Ones While Exploring Ways
To Keep Bad Elements Out

OAKLAND -- From the inside, the office of Fruitvale's new Carmen Flores
Recreation Center looks something like a command post.

Wrap-around windows afford panoramic views of the soccer field and the
playground equipment at Josie de la Cruz Park. A monitoring system allows
staff to keep tabs on how long the facility's public restrooms are in use,
a defense against vandals and drug users.

"We keep an eye out for the predators -- the drug dealers and gang
members," said Marcelina Sanchez, center director. "The more people use
this park, the less the drugs and gangs will."

Each afternoon, neighborhood families reap the rewards of this
extra-vigilant approach to park safety.

Kids swarm the playground equipment as their parents lounge in the shade on
graffiti-free benches. A friendly pick-up game develops on the soccer field
nearby. The onlyreal source of trouble appears to be the circling
paleteros, push-cart ice cream vendors whose ding-a-lings periodically
touch off a wave of parental nagging throughout the park.

Most importantly, the seedy cast of characters who once reigned here has
been banished. Even the old name -- Sanborn Park -- is gone now.

"This used to be an ugly place," said Jaime Barn, whose 11-year-old
daughter, Karen, is now enrolled in two summer programs through the new
recreation center.

"I couldn't bring my kids here because of the drinking and drug use," he
said. "It's so much better now."

Located at 1637 Fruitvale Ave., the center held an open house last week to
promote the wide range of community services it offers -- everything from
child care to cooking classes to "Earn Your Bike," a bicycle safety and
community service program. The $1.5 million facility also boasts an
industrial kitchen, a computer lab, a large multipurpose room and a staff
of six employees.

The Carmen Flores project is part of an ongoing effort by city officials
and children's advocates to chip away at Fruitvale's parks and playground
deficit. Demographic studies indicate the neighborhood has more kids than
any other in Oakland but fewer park and playground opportunities.

This disparity has been eased in recent years with a mini-boom in new
construction and park revitalization in Fruitvale. In September, the city
will break ground on Union Point Park, a 9-acre spread of ball fields,
trails and recreational areas along Fruitvale's waterfront.

City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente (San Antonio-Fruitvale) hailed
the $9 million new park as "a jewel." De la Fuente and other city officials
said the neighborhood has seen more park construction and revitalization
than any other area of the city in recent years.

"Historically, the flatlands neighborhoods have had less open space," De La
Fuente said. "It's one of the highest density areas in the city, and that's
why we're channeling more resources towards these types of projects."

An $8 million plan to renovate Fruitvale's Hacienda Peralta Park is also
set to break ground soon, said De La Fuente staff members.

But part of the problem in securing more play spaces for the Fruitvale's
kids lies with the existing parks in the district, which can quickly be
appropriated by unsavory elements.

"We need to somehow control these areas that aren't controlled," said
Public Works maintenance supervisor Anne Hyde. "If you don't have a
neighborhood watch going on, people are intimidated."

The playground at Cesar Chavez Park on Foothill Boulevard is a case in
point. At 4 p.m. on a recent weekday, there were only two mothers and their
children using the park. Both adults said they felt unsafe, and constantly
looked over their shoulders to eye an overgrown area in the rear of the
park and the men passing through the area.

"By the late afternoon, there are homeless men drinking, or gang members
smoking marijuana," said Fruitvale mom Maria Hernandez. "I won't come here
after 6 p.m."

Her friend Zuelma Mendez said she doesn't venture into the park alone. "If
I see another family here, I'll bring my son in," Mendez said. "But if
there's no one else here, or I see gang members, I'm too scared."

A few blocks away, another small park on 38th Avenue appeared even more
uninviting. Gang insignias marred the new playground equipment, and its
only patrons -- a group of rough-looking men lounging by a fence -- clearly
weren't there to use the slide.

Back at Josie de la Cruz Park and the Carmen Flores Recreation Center, the
crowd was decidedly more innocent.

When asked what she liked about coming to the park, 4-year-old Alejandra
Chavez replied, "I like to play."

Anything else?

"I like beans," she said. "And I like corn flakes."

With that, she ran off to play.