February 10, 2021
Mayor Marty Walsh surveyed the scene at the newly-renovated Garvey Playground in Neponset in what might have been his final public ribbon-cutting appearance in Dorchester as the city’s Mayor on Feb. 6. In celebrating the milestone, Walsh assured neighbors that he was not leaving the neighborhood behind, despite his likely new job in Washington, D.C.. “We’re not selling, just for the record,” he said of his home in Lower Mills. Bill Forry photo
Mayor Walsh made what might have been his final public ribbon-cutting appearance in Dorchester as the city’s Mayor last Saturday at Garvey Playground, where a $5.8 million project has transformed the city-owned park over the last 18 months.
Walsh surveyed the new playing fields and amenities and posed for photos with a small group of about 30 mask-wearing people who were on hand for the event.
Walsh was a bit emotional as he spoke before cutting the ribbon with a group of youngsters from the Dorchester Youth Hockey program.
“In the next couple of weeks, I’ll probably be voted on by the United States Senate to be the next Secretary of Labor,” he said.
After a notable pause he added: “This means a little bit extra to me today because I got my start here as a state representative in St. Williams and St. Margarets and St. Anns and St. Brendans parish. I’ll never forget this neighborhood. I’m not moving. A few people said, ‘You’re moving.’ A lot of people [are] sending letters to my house to buy my house. We’re not selling, just for the record.”
Mayor Martin Walsh is shown touring the new playground area at Neponset’s Garvey Park on Sat., Feb. 6. The 5.27-acre park at 340 Neponset Ave. now includes state-of-the-art play areas, a new artificial turf field, basketball court and street hockey court, and a fenced-in recreation space for dogs. The dog park is named in memory of a neighborhood man, Gerald ‘Jerry’ Cunningham.
Photo by Jeremiah Robinson/Mayor’s Office
Walsh was joined at the event by city Councillor Frank Baker, whom he credited with helping to push for the project. Thanks to funding from Mayor Walsh’s Capital Improvement Plan and the Community Preservation Act, the 5.27-acre park at 340 Neponset Ave. now boasts some of the finest amenities in the city. They include age appropriate play areas for children ages 2 to 5 and 5 to 12; and a new artificial turf field can be used for Babe Ruth baseball, men and women’s lacrosse, and flag football. There is also a basketball court and street hockey court, and a shade structure will be installed in the spring.
The field also features integrated concrete bleachers that fit into the landscape. Other amenities include a new dog recreation space, a field house terrace, and scoreboards and lighting for the ball field, basketball court, and street hockey court. The state-of-the art playground was designed by GroundView Inc. and built by Fleming Brothers.
