New Orleans' Armstrong Park needs attention: An editorial

Armstrong Park should be a beautiful public space for recreation; its location on the edge of the French Quarter and its historic background as part of Tremé make it an asset, one that the city needs to use to its full potential.

That hasn't happened yet. The Landrieu administration reopened large areas of the park in May and committed to reopening the rest this fall. But in the meantime, two neighborhood groups have raised concerns about the park and what they see as a lack of city oversight.

Residents complain that the grass is unmowed, that it's hard to know when the St. Philip Street gate to the park will be open and when it will be locked. And there's also a perception that the park is dangerous. That feeling was reinforced when the body of a young woman, whose throat had been cut, was found alongside Municipal Auditorium last week.

Two neighborhood groups, Friends of Armstrong Park and People United for Armstrong Park, are calling on Mayor Landrieu to provide more consistent oversight for the park by hiring a park manager and creating a management plan.

While the mayor should listen to the groups, hiring a manager isn't the only way to provide attention to Armstrong Park. Cutting the grass and making sure that the gate is opened and closed on a regular schedule ought to be within the capabilities of the Department of Parks and Parkways.

Park advocate Leo Watermeier say he thinks the park's reopening should be delayed until the concerns are resolved. But it's hard to see what that would accomplish. A lack of accessibility and the foot traffic it brings have contributed to an atmosphere of neglect and danger.

Mayor Landrieu inherited a botched renovation project from Mayor Ray Nagin, and resolving the legal issues surrounding that contract and redoing the work has taken time. But Armstrong Park was closed for a long time, and the administration is right to push forward with a fall date for the full reopening. The city just needs to make sure it's doing everything necessary to keep it safe, clean and well-maintained now and in the future.