Doug Palmer gave his very first speech at Cadawalder Park at a block party when he was running for mayor for the first time. Last Sunday I went to this park, expecting to find sliding boards, a see-saw and swings, but there was nothing there for little kids. I remember when my father took me there when I was a child. There was the balloon man, and we fed the animals and played on the tall slides. It‘s a shame that Palmer lied that he would fix up the city‘s park. Trenton has only one big city park but there‘s nothing there. And where are the centers? There used to be a center for every section of Trenton. This is why you have gangs. There‘s nothing for these kids to get into and no summer jobs. And you wonder why the death toll goes up and there‘s nothing but babies. I‘m ashamed I voted for Doug Palmer because I believed in him. If he reads this, he‘ll know who I am.

Historic view

You can‘t live in the past. I miss the Balloon man, too, but he‘s gone. I remember fondly visits to the Monkey House, the bears and pony rides, but that Cadwalader Park is gone — killed by ”progress.“ As for the neighborhood centers, they got moved to the mall. There are loads of jobs at the mall. It‘s great to think about Trenton of yesterday, but we have to start focusing on the Trenton of today and tomorrow.

— Ed. Note