Photos: Postage-stamp parks give the Tenderloin room to breathe

Green, fenced city lots across the Tenderloin function as parks where children, teens, and seniors gather for play and games. Father Alfred E. Boeddeker Park and Sergeant John Macaulay Park were built during the mid-1980s crack epidemic and later renovated with millions in urban renewal dollars. Turk-Hyde Mini Park emerged around 1968 through a city mini-park program. Urban Alchemy Oasis Park, run by a nonprofit providing services and training to formerly incarcerated people, has been operating since 2022. The Tenderloin Recreation Center Children’s Playground Park at 570 Ellis St. is undergoing a full makeover and is currently closed. Boeddeker, Macauley, and Turk-Hyde parks are linked through the Tenderloin Park Network, with TLCBD staff providing on-site support.

"Walking the Tenderloin leads to some unexpected surprises. Dotting the neighborhood are green squares of city lots practically no bigger than postage stamps. In these spaces, children clamber the jungle gyms, teens shoot hoops, and seniors play cards. The people are protected by tall fences and stern guards. These oases of safety are the Tenderloin's parks."

"Both parks were built during the crack epidemic of the mid-1980s, and were renovated over the past 15 years thanks to millions of urban renewal dollars. A tinier park is the one-tenth-of-an-acre Turk-Hyde Mini Park. It sprung up around 1968 when the San Francisco mini-park program began."

"Across the street from Turk-Hyde is the Urban Alchemy Oasis Park. Urban Alchemy is a nonprofit that provides social services and training to formerly incarcerated people who are living in cities mainly on the West Coast. The Oasis park is no bigger than Turk-Hyde. Folks at Turk-Hyde call Oasis the "dog park" and has been around since 2022."

"Boeddeker, Macauley and Turk-Hyde parks are connected to each other by the Tenderloin Park Network. Each park has two or more staff members sporting blue, green, and gray vests with the TLCBD logo - the Tenderloin Community Benefit District. The TLCBD is a nonprofit whose core purpose is to lead the Tenderloin residents "into a vibrant community" through neighborhood management programs."

Read at Mission Local