We've Been Busy! A Project Update
For over two and a half years, Friends of Lincoln Square Park has been tirelessly working to support the park's facilities, staff, and community. While we've been involved in multiple projects at the park, we remain focused on building an expanded and improved recreation center. Anyone who spends time at the Lincoln Recreation Center can see that it barely fits existing programs, much less accommodate the very visible development growth all around the park.
To address this urgent community need, we've started co-hosting Lincoln Summer Nights, formed Friends of Lincoln Square Park, and shared our vision for a larger and improved recreation center. We've formed an incredibly dedicated steering committee and completed conceptual designs for a new recreation center. In case you're just hearing about us for the first time, here's a brief recap on our progress to date.
Lincoln Summer Nights
Lincoln Summer Nights were launched by volunteers in 2016 in order to provide a first Friday outdoor event in the heart of Oakland Chinatown. Each Summer, we partner with over a dozen community organizations to put on a family-friendly gathering for every generation to celebrate and have fun together. Hundreds of families and seniors attend to eat, play games, and enjoy entertainment by local community groups. These events give us an opportunity to talk to hundreds of community members about the park and gather input and ideas for the recreation center.
Community Partners include: Lincoln Square Recreation Center, Oakland Parks and Recreation and Youth Development, Oakland Public Library, Asian Health Services, AYPAL (Asian Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership), AYSC (Asian Youth Services Committee), APSC (Asian Prisoners Support Committee), The Spot Youth Center, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Oakland Asian Cultural Center, and local businesses
Community Outreach
Our first public community outreach meeting to discuss the need for a new recreation center was by Councilmember Abel Guillen in March of 2017. Over 250 people packed into the Gym to attend CM Guillen's community workshop, including seniors, students, school administrators and community organizations. Community members asked questions, shared their ideas and heard about the long process for rebuilding the recreation center. Everyone agreed more space was needed and CM Guillen pledged to work with the community to rebuild a larger recreation center. Other outreach meetings and activities have included:
Setup formal relationship with Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation as a fiscal sponsor (2017)
Setup Facebook page, Instagram Account, and Twitter account for Friends of Lincoln Square Park (May 2017)
Information and outreach table at Lincoln Summer Nights (Summer 2017)
Legacy Luncheon to gather stories and feedback from a dozen Lincoln Elementary Alumni (Dec 2017)
Setup Friends of Lincoln Square Park website to share information and gather feedback from the community (February 2018)
Began showcasing conceptual drawings in the Recreation Center lobby to gather feedback and answer questions from park users (Jan 2018 - present)
Met with representatives of the Lincoln Elementary School and the Golden Dragon Project (March 2018)
Activity Booth and information at the Wa Sung Easter Breakfast. CM Guillen publicly pledged his support for an expanded recreation center and invited others to support the effort. (Watch this video) (April 2018)
Information and outreach table at Lincoln Summer Nights (Summer 2018)
Breakfast Presentation to Chinese Community United Methodist Church (CCUMC) (August 2018)
Gallery Exhibit Opening at the Asian Resource Center - Showcase posters of the park and Lincoln Summer nights (August 2018)
Presented project update and answered questions at monthly Chinatown Coalition meeting (October 2018)
Attended Wa Sung Annual Meeting, shared project with community members (January 2019)
Planning and coordination meeting with Buddhist Church of Oakland and Asian Health Services (March 2019)
Authored article and project overview for Wa Sung Community Directory (April 2019)
Partnered with 9 UCLA students to conduct interviews with park staff and users (April 2019)
Printed Friends of Lincoln Square Park T-shirts and began soliciting donations to spread the word about the project (April 2019)
Attended Chinese American Citizens Alliance (CACA) meeting and presented project overview and answered questions (April 2019)
Presented and discussed options for building the center and supporting long-term operations with two groups of planners as part of the American Planning Association's 2019 National Planning Conference (April 2019)
Screened new outreach video and presented our vision to the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce Annual Spring Banquet and hosted an information table to gather feedback and donations. (April 2019)
Info table and children's activity table at Wa Sung Easter Breakfast April 2019)
Screened new video at the Oakland Parks and Recreation Foundation's annual dinner, Spring for Parks (April 2019)
In addition to forming a steering committee of dedicated volunteers representing a broad range of community stakeholders, we've been incredibly fortunate to have the support of a growing number of local organizations including:
Oakland Parks and Recreation
Office of Councilmember Nikki Bas
Aimee Eng, District 2 Board Member, Oakland Unified School District
The Oakland Chinatown Coalition
Please contact us if you are interested in scheduling an informational outreach presentation with us. We would love to share our vision with you and listen to your ideas.
Project Development
In 2017, we raised enough money to hire Byrens Kim-Design Works to complete a space planning analysis which concluded we needed a center more than twice the size of our current center just to accommodate our existing programming. We then worked with Byrens Kim to develop conceptual designs for a larger center to be shared with the community in order to gather feedback. The new center would be three stories and use the existing space more efficiently, without sacrificing any of the current outdoor space.
Local Advocacy
We know we can't build a new recreation center without public support, so we've worked hard to make sure our voices are heard.
Spoke out at the Oakland Equity Design outreach meeting (August 2018)
Invited and hosted Director Nick Williams (OPRYD), Director Jason Mitchell (OPW), Director Ryan Russo (OAKDOT), Councilmember Guillen, and Mayor Libby Schaaff to the re-opening of the Junk Boat playground
Attended and advocated for park investments at the Age-Friendly Oakland listening session (October 2018)
Submitted a project proposal for the City's Capital Improvement Program
Met with Lily Soohoo of Oakland Public Works (November 2018)
Attended Estuary Park Planning Meeting and advocated for planning coordination with nearby Chinatown parks (December 2018)
Participated in the Downtown Specific Plan Community Advisory Group meetings and (January, February 2019)
Spoke at the Oakland Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and advocated for prioritizing investment in existing facilities over new park projects (PRAC); (February 2019)
Briefed Councilmember Nikki Bas (March 2019)
Attended Kaiser Center Community Meeting (March 2019)
What's next
We've done a lot to get this program off the ground, but we need more support from the City, community partners, local foundations and businesses and the public in order to bring this project closer to reality. Once-in-a-generation projects like this don't happen over night and it's going to take a while to gather the support and funding required to build a larger recreation center.
The need is now. The time is here, we're ready to move forward, and it can’t happen without YOU! Please make a generation donation today and reach out to us to get involved in this exciting community endeavor.