Text & Video By: Maria Moore
On Sunday, August 5, I took a walk in Brodie Park South to record the sights and sounds of that town-owned property as dusk gave way to night and its human users gave way to its nighttime inhabitants. The property is accessed by a country road and is located in a quiet, rural neighborhood.
On August 6, this property, which has been a passive recreation haven for residents since its purchase by the town in 1986, began to be used by the New Hartford Football & Cheer, a regional football program, to hold its practices. From 6 p.m. until 8 p.m., for 5 evenings per week during August and then 3 evenings per week from September through mid-November, the active sports program has been permitted by the town’s Recreation Commission to make use of this property. During those times, the program’s 130+ participants hold their practices there, while 75+ vehicles are allowed to remain on site at the property which has a parking lot for 12 vehicles.
To document the effects of this active sports use on both the park and the neighborhood, I videoed at Brodie Park South on Tuesday, August 7, from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., approximately the same time as I had videoed on Sunday, August 5. I used as my base the front porch of a long-time resident, whose home is approximately 40 feet from the vehicles that are being allowed to park both outside and inside the park. While videoing inside the park, I changed my route from the August 5 walk from the front of the meadow to the back of the meadow area to avoid intruding on the children participating in the practices. The video has also been blurred in places to protect the children’s privacy.
Following is the video of the second walk at Brodie Park South on Tuesday, August 7, the second day that Football practices were held at that property:
Click the image above to watch the video of the walk in Brodie Park South on August 7, 2012, on the NewHartfordPlus YouTube channel
More on Brodie Park South:
- Watch the video of the August 5 walk at Brodie Park South, one day before the active sports program began practices there for the 2012 season.
- Watch the video of Martha Hale, the long-time resident who lives directly across Niles Road from Brodie Park South, as she talks about the 54 years she has lived in her home, and the uses she has seen the property across the road from her put to.
- Read the August 15 article The Uses And Future Goals For Brodie Park South: Baseline Established Through Town Documents posted on NewHartfordPlus.
- For more information on Brodie South see the Brodie Park South category of NewHartfordPlus.
