Open Road Park; Interview with Nando Rodriguez
"When a person needs something, I would jump in to figure out how to make that happen. I try my best to provide," says Nando Rodriguez, co-director of Open Road Park, a park created by teens for teens. Walking into the park located on 12th Street, between 1st and A avenue, it takes a second to realize that there's about an acres worth of land devoted to recreational activity.
From basketball courts to skate ramps, greenhouses to BBQ spaces, graffiti events to music concerts, waterfalls to ponds, the park provides a playground for teens ages 13-18.
An intense graffiti event is going on outside on a Saturday afternoon where summer rain is unpredictable but the weather couldn't drive the participants away. White Ts soaked and all, they continued to spray-praint visual works of art on canvasses distributed throughout the basketball courts. A couple of teenagers are strewn around Rodriguez, who is patiently getting a haircut from his cousin in one of two heated greenhouses located in the park. Though he is restricted to minimal movement, he passionately discusses the birth of the park.
From basketball courts to skate ramps, greenhouses to BBQ spaces, graffiti events to music concerts, waterfalls to ponds, the park provides a playground for teens ages 13-18.An intense graffiti event is going on outside on a Saturday afternoon where summer rain is unpredictable but the weather couldn't drive the participants away. White Ts soaked and all, they continued to spray-praint visual works of art on canvasses distributed throughout the basketball courts. A couple of teenagers are strewn around Rodriguez, who is patiently getting a haircut from his cousin in one of two heated greenhouses located in the park. Though he is restricted to minimal movement, he passionately discusses the birth of the park.
In 1990, the space where present-day Open Road Park resides used to be abandoned land where grass grew wildly, homeless people lived, drug dealers dealt and prostitutes prostituted. All that negative activity was going on in too close a proximity to students attending East Side Community High School, located right next to the hell-hole. It wasn't until Rafael Santiago, a student at the time, ran into one of his garden teachers and asked her to come by and build a garden, that the problem was seriously acknowledged. It was no easy task. The land was contaminated with petroleum oil and laundry detergent from a nearby laundromat, making it near impossible to even have teenagers work on the land, much less promote plant-life.
The land had belonged to the government but was transferred to the Board of Education through the efforts of the school, the Department of Sanitation and Open Road, a not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1990. A thriving park was designed and created and the first gardening class was brought out to work on a small portion of land that had been cleared of hazardous waste. After 1994, the mission was to develop environmental spaces for and with teenagers in the community and surrounding schools. That's when young Nando Rodriguez became involved. He came in as a student and now co-directs the events and programs that Open Road Park offers, such as construction projects, composting, planting trees and vegetables, and even building the occasional waterfall with a class of students.
The programs began as after school activities but now run during school hours as well. Grants from private foundations and donors fund the educational progress of the park. An ethnically-diverse group of teenagers involve themselves in learning about environment-friendly projects such as composting and have fun in the process. Events, such as the graffiti one, art exhibits for aspiring artists, and skateboarding competitions, thrown at the park teach teenagers how to organize and run a small business company all while getting paid.
The park is a safe haven for teenagers in the East Village, who aren't always exposed to positivity. "One of our goals is always to keep a safe environment for our students," says Rodriguez. Matthew, a young teen involved in a brotherhood within the community, says, "I feel good here. It's comfortable and laid back. There are lots of things to do." Franchesca Santos, an 18 year-old involved with Open Road Park says, "I like how it is rooted. It's by the community for the community."
It began as a piece of seemingly useless land but with a lot of conscious hard work, funding, ambitious teenagers and volunteers, Open Road Park became, "A canvas for teen creativity". When teenagers start to immerse themselves in the vibrant culture of graffiti art, breakdancing, music, and skateboarding while saving the environment one acre at a time, even parents can recognize and appreciate the good such institutions can do for a community. "Don't try to design a youth space if you're not young yourself. Let them do the designing because they know what they want," Nando Rodriguez advises anyone that seeks to accomplish all that Open Road has with the park.
The land had belonged to the government but was transferred to the Board of Education through the efforts of the school, the Department of Sanitation and Open Road, a not-for-profit educational organization founded in 1990. A thriving park was designed and created and the first gardening class was brought out to work on a small portion of land that had been cleared of hazardous waste. After 1994, the mission was to develop environmental spaces for and with teenagers in the community and surrounding schools. That's when young Nando Rodriguez became involved. He came in as a student and now co-directs the events and programs that Open Road Park offers, such as construction projects, composting, planting trees and vegetables, and even building the occasional waterfall with a class of students.
The programs began as after school activities but now run during school hours as well. Grants from private foundations and donors fund the educational progress of the park. An ethnically-diverse group of teenagers involve themselves in learning about environment-friendly projects such as composting and have fun in the process. Events, such as the graffiti one, art exhibits for aspiring artists, and skateboarding competitions, thrown at the park teach teenagers how to organize and run a small business company all while getting paid.
The park is a safe haven for teenagers in the East Village, who aren't always exposed to positivity. "One of our goals is always to keep a safe environment for our students," says Rodriguez. Matthew, a young teen involved in a brotherhood within the community, says, "I feel good here. It's comfortable and laid back. There are lots of things to do." Franchesca Santos, an 18 year-old involved with Open Road Park says, "I like how it is rooted. It's by the community for the community."
It began as a piece of seemingly useless land but with a lot of conscious hard work, funding, ambitious teenagers and volunteers, Open Road Park became, "A canvas for teen creativity". When teenagers start to immerse themselves in the vibrant culture of graffiti art, breakdancing, music, and skateboarding while saving the environment one acre at a time, even parents can recognize and appreciate the good such institutions can do for a community. "Don't try to design a youth space if you're not young yourself. Let them do the designing because they know what they want," Nando Rodriguez advises anyone that seeks to accomplish all that Open Road has with the park.
- Shirline Chowdhury
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
