In fall 2019, an affordable housing project was announced by a trio of partners: the City of St. John’s, Habitat for Humanity N.L. and the Eric Street Community Garden. Then Ward 2 Coun. Hope Jamieson was part of the Eric Street Community Garden group and identified the open parcel of land at 28 Eric St. for the first affordable housing commitment. Jamieson’s rationale was that residents don’t “need” the green space at 28 Eric St. because there are parks nearby. However, if you’ve been to either the park on the corner of Eric/McKay Street, or the park adjacent to the soccer field on Warbury Street, you would know that these parks are in desperate need of repairs. Play structures are aged, broken and dirty. Beer bottle glass is scattered all around. I have found pills and dirty needles at these sites, as well as pet excrement everywhere. The city does not seem to monitor or clean these parks. Yet, these issues don’t exist at the green space on Eric Street.
Ward 2 is very densely populated, and many of us don’t have large parcels of land or even backyards. Imagine the welcome reprieve an accessible, local open green space provides.
As we all can appreciate, 2020 has been an unusually difficult year for many reasons, including Snowmageddon and the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite these challenges, there has been one constant — our green space at 28 Eric St. My family, like many residents of the Eric Street area, are frequent users of this green space. Ward 2 is very densely populated, and many of us don’t have large parcels of land or even backyards. Imagine the welcome reprieve an accessible, local open green space provides.
During Snowmageddon, when the city was shut down, our neighbourhood gathered together in the green space at 28 Eric Street, braving the 20-foot snowbanks and the bitter cold. We had a fire, roasted marshmallows and enjoyed the warmth of community spirit and collective togetherness. Our children used the hills of the green space to slide and tube throughout the arduous winter. When the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were enacted in St. John’s, the green space on Eric Street was one of the only outdoor areas not cordoned off from public use.
A recent decision/direction note from the City of St. John’s, dated Sept. 24, 2020, states that, “Through discussion and in consultation with the (access to information) co-ordinator, we are seeking approval to no longer post the agendas and minutes publicly. We feel there is legitimate reason to stop doing so based on premature disclosures, intergovernmental issues, the risk to potential partnerships and policy issues.”
Members of the West End Community Alliance know that this is as a direct result of our early involvement in trying to stop the destruction of our green space. Why the secrecy? We implore council to save our green space.
Remember, you are elected to serve constituents.
Sarah Messervey, founding member
West End Community Alliance
St. John’s
