East Orange Recreation Department Program Coordinator and youth football coach Tyrone Myles, right, follows through on his serve on the city’s new paddleball court in Elmwood Park on Wednesday, Nov. 8, during the ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony of the new public fitness area in the park as, from left, Recreation Department Supervisor Janice Walker and Recreation Department Director Osner Charles watch.
EAST ORANGE, NJ — Mayor Lester Taylor and Mayor-elect Ted Green were both in Elmwood Park on Wednesday, Nov. 8, for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening of the new free public fitness area that had been under construction since the summer.
Assemblyman Tom Giblin, former Councilman William Holt, professional boxer Chris Concepcion and many others, including members of the departments of Public Works, Policy, Planning and Economic Development, and the East Orange Open Space Committee, were also at the event, described as a tribute to the city’s dedication to public health and physical fitness. The new fitness area includes five tennis courts, two handball courts and the city’s first outdoor ADA-compliant full-circuit fitness area.
According to city officials, the Elmwood Park renovation project, including the new fitness area, cost more than $2.5 million, and was built with funding from the city of East Orange, NJ Green Acres and East Orange Open Space grants. It was designed by DPW Parks Supervisor Dennis Smith and constructed by the East Orange-based Tec-Con Contractors, which concentrates solely on public projects especially recreation projects.
Taylor said the addition of the fitness circuit training area is a welcome enhancement to the historic park.
“Research has shown that being outdoors in a natural environment can help motivate people to exercise,” said Taylor on Wednesday, Nov. 8. “Our green open spaces are meant to be enjoyed by people of all ages and at all levels of intensity. We are extremely excited to provide our residents with access to another opportunity to stay fit and healthy.”
Taylor and Smith said some of the equipment, such as a hand cycle, chest press and lat pull down, can be used for those with limited range of motion, while other equipment, such as the elliptical and recumbent cycle, are for advanced users. The fitness area also includes a large rubberized surface for holding outdoor exercise classes, such as Zumba workouts, kickboxing and boxing.
“I’m an undefeated professional boxer from East Orange, representing,” said Concepcion on Wednesday, Nov. 8. “Right now, we’re at a gym on South Orange Avenue that’s the borderline of East Orange and Newark. It’s called Dorker. It’s for the city of Newark, but it’s on the borderline of East Orange and Newark, so it’s right on South Orange Avenue, which is a few blocks away from this location in Elmwood Park.”
Concepcion said he would make very good use of the new Elmwood Park fitness area and equipment, now that it’s officially open to the public.
“The fact that you have this here, instead of going to the gym later on in the afternoon and using equipment, you can do it in the morning and in the afternoon, because this is available to you. So we’re going to make the most of this. We’re going to keep this place clean for everybody to use and we’re going to let a lot of people know that you can come here and work out, just like you can go in the gym and work out. You can do it right here in the park. It’s the same thing.”
Green said that’s precisely the kinds of use he, Taylor, Smith and everyone else involved with the Elmwood Park renovation project intended.
“He talked about having to train in Newark and, what we want to do, coming in 2018, here in the city of East Orange, is to bring more recreation programs and activities, especially boxing,” Green, who owns and operates the Green School of Martial Arts dojo on Rhode Island Avenue, said Wednesday, Nov. 8. “We’ve got a lot of young people who are interested in boxing, but we also have a lot of men who are really fighting outside of East Orange, but they’re from East Orange.
“We want them to feel the same home spirit that they’re feeling anywhere else and we’re going to make sure that we have a program here where this brother here can come and train right here in the city of East Orange, because every time he’s out, he doesn’t represent Newark, he represents East Orange, so we want to make sure that we share in those sentiments.”
East Orange Public Works Director Chris Coke and Recreation Department Director Osner Charles echoed those sentiments, saying that the best thing about the project is that it’s free for the public to use.
“I think, for the most part, to have a city that’s majority minority, at the end of the day, to be able make the kinds of accomplishments we have, with little to no state aid, says a lot to the testament of the spirit in this community and it should be an example for, I think, minorities nationwide about how a government could be run by minorities and run successfully,” said Coke on Wednesday, Nov. 8. “So I hope we continue that progress. I’m pretty certain we will continue that process, in that it’s a community effort. This is really a village on a larger scale. I’m happy to just be a part of it and bring these types of great projects to the citizens in the city.”
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