Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

Yes, absolutely.

It's poor planning. These people think fields get used for sports on Saturday morning and are vacant the rest of the time so the grass can recover.

What they don't get is that the field has Salvadorans playing soccer on it from morning until dusk. Every day.

That's why they're mud holes

[Anonymous]

Salvdorans?

Neighbors walking dogs.

Others using the field at off times. Salvadorans, really?

[Anonymous]

If you wonder how well DC DPR will maintain pool facilities over the long term, look no further than the large pile of trash and abandoned bags that has stood on Hearst Park property along 37th St for several months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, absolutely.

It's poor planning. These people think fields get used for sports on Saturday morning and are vacant the rest of the time so the grass can recover.

What they don't get is that the field has Salvadorans playing soccer on it from morning until dusk. Every day.

That's why they're mud holes

Other fields may have Salvadorans playing soccer on them from morning to dusk but that is definitely not the case with Hearst which is mostly unused except for some Saturdays in the spring and fall.

And FWIW I doubt too many of the neighbors of the pool have any idea where a field that has Salvadorans playing soccer from dawn to dusk even is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you wonder how well DC DPR will maintain pool facilities over the long term, look no further than the large pile of trash and abandoned bags that has stood on Hearst Park property along 37th St for several months.

That is a homeless persons stuff. Now you are just being callous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you wonder how well DC DPR will maintain pool facilities over the long term, look no further than the large pile of trash and abandoned bags that has stood on Hearst Park property along 37th St for several months.

That is a homeless persons stuff. Now you are just being callous.

Perhaps it WAS a homeless person's stuff. It has stayed there, unmoved, for months. Call the trash haulers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, absolutely.

It's poor planning. These people think fields get used for sports on Saturday morning and are vacant the rest of the time so the grass can recover.

What they don't get is that the field has Salvadorans playing soccer on it from morning until dusk. Every day.

That's why they're mud holes

Other fields may have Salvadorans playing soccer on them from morning to dusk but that is definitely not the case with Hearst which is mostly unused except for some Saturdays in the spring and fall.

And FWIW I doubt too many of the neighbors of the pool have any idea where a field that has Salvadorans playing soccer from dawn to dusk even is.

I've been at Hearst on a Sunday afternoon when there was a men's game going on and the dominant language was Spanish. Can't say if they were Salvadoran.

But the broader point is true that the field is ruined from overuse. Do a Google search for grass athletic field recommendations, and you'll see the standard advice is to limit use to no more than 20 hours in any week and no more than 20 weeks a year of that. During the spring and fall Hearst is used by organized activities about 40 hours a week -- 4 hours after school on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Each season is ten weeks. On top of that is the unorganized use, the pickup games and dog walking. There just is no way that grass can grow under that use load.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, absolutely.

It's poor planning. These people think fields get used for sports on Saturday morning and are vacant the rest of the time so the grass can recover.

What they don't get is that the field has Salvadorans playing soccer on it from morning until dusk. Every day.

That's why they're mud holes

Other fields may have Salvadorans playing soccer on them from morning to dusk but that is definitely not the case with Hearst which is mostly unused except for some Saturdays in the spring and fall.

And FWIW I doubt too many of the neighbors of the pool have any idea where a field that has Salvadorans playing soccer from dawn to dusk even is.

I've been at Hearst on a Sunday afternoon when there was a men's game going on and the dominant language was Spanish. Can't say if they were Salvadoran.

But the broader point is true that the field is ruined from overuse. Do a Google search for grass athletic field recommendations, and you'll see the standard advice is to limit use to no more than 20 hours in any week and no more than 20 weeks a year of that. During the spring and fall Hearst is used by organized activities about 40 hours a week -- 4 hours after school on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Each season is ten weeks. On top of that is the unorganized use, the pickup games and dog walking. There just is no way that grass can grow under that use load.

It matters less to me that many of the adult users who use the Hearst field hard seem to come originally from Central America, than that many seem to live in Maryland now based on the license plates on their cars. Should DC maintained facilities suffer from overuse from those who largely don't live in Washington?

[Anonymous]

So put in a turf field. That is more in line with DPR mission than limiting use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So put in a turf field. That is more in line with DPR mission than limiting use.

Or transfer park operation to CIS.

[Anonymous]

In this week's Northwest Current is a report on legislation moving through Congress which could facilitate a Ward 3 pool on National Park Service land at Fort Reno, which would be larger than what needs to fit at Hearst Park.

This could be a definite win-win.

https://currentnewspapers.com/viewpoint-a-new-hope-for-a-pool-at-fort-reno/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you wonder how well DC DPR will maintain pool facilities over the long term, look no further than the large pile of trash and abandoned bags that has stood on Hearst Park property along 37th St for several months.

That is a homeless persons stuff. Now you are just being callous.

Perhaps it WAS a homeless person's stuff. It has stayed there, unmoved, for months. Call the trash haulers!

She still uses it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, absolutely.

It's poor planning. These people think fields get used for sports on Saturday morning and are vacant the rest of the time so the grass can recover.

What they don't get is that the field has Salvadorans playing soccer on it from morning until dusk. Every day.

That's why they're mud holes

Other fields may have Salvadorans playing soccer on them from morning to dusk but that is definitely not the case with Hearst which is mostly unused except for some Saturdays in the spring and fall.

And FWIW I doubt too many of the neighbors of the pool have any idea where a field that has Salvadorans playing soccer from dawn to dusk even is.

I've been at Hearst on a Sunday afternoon when there was a men's game going on and the dominant language was Spanish. Can't say if they were Salvadoran.

But the broader point is true that the field is ruined from overuse. Do a Google search for grass athletic field recommendations, and you'll see the standard advice is to limit use to no more than 20 hours in any week and no more than 20 weeks a year of that. During the spring and fall Hearst is used by organized activities about 40 hours a week -- 4 hours after school on weekdays and all day on the weekends. Each season is ten weeks. On top of that is the unorganized use, the pickup games and dog walking. There just is no way that grass c an grow under that use load.

It matters less to me that many of the adult users who use the Hearst field hard seem to come originally from Central America, than that many seem to live in Maryland now based on the license plates on their cars. Should DC maintained facilities suffer from overuse from those who largely don't live in Washington?

Yes.

The real problem with the field is rain water management.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In this week's Northwest Current is a report on legislation moving through Congress which could facilitate a Ward 3 pool on National Park Service land at Fort Reno, which would be larger than what needs to fit at Hearst Park.

This could be a definite win-win.

https://currentnewspapers.com/viewpoint-a-new-hope-for-a-pool-at-fort-reno/

Or we could keep moving forward with the plans for a pool at Hearst which would also be a win-win - an actual certain win-win instead of maybe it will somehow work out to put the pool on Federal land and maybe we'll get the pool in 5 or 10 years instead of two.

Like everything else the opponents have come up with it is a misleading and inaccurate letter though at least it acknowledges that none of the legacy oak trees will be lost which is the favorite lie of the immediate neighbors.

So Ward 3 should not get a pool because money should not be spent in Ward 3 in an election year? Huh? The Ward 3 Councilmember is up for re-election and getting a pool in her Ward will be a big boost for her popularity.

And no one cares about a 6 million expenditure in a city with a 10 billion dollar annual budget.

Money that was budgeted years ago.

And we shouldn't get a pool because it requires an elevator to be ADA compliant? I think that means the entire park is not ADA compliant so maybe it should be locked up!

And I love the line about the "Hearst Community" being opposed to the pool. No the "Hearst Community" is not opposed to the pool - the immediate neighbors are.

And what are the serious environmental drawbacks and how is it not economical or practical?

Coming up with a bunch of non-sense and getting it published in the NW Current does not make it rational, reasonable or true. It is just a bunch of non-sense.

Next please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you wonder how well DC DPR will maintain pool facilities over the long term, look no further than the large pile of trash and abandoned bags that has stood on Hearst Park property along 37th St for several months.

That is a homeless persons stuff. Now you are just being callous.

Perhaps it WAS a homeless person's stuff. It has stayed there, unmoved, for months. Call the trash haulers!

She still uses it.

Put it in your yard and give her a pass key? that stuff should not be accrued there