Weequahic Park to See More Improvements This Year

Weequahic Park in Newark’s South Ward has undergone many improvements over the past few years, from the resurfacing of the rubberized walking track to the installation of new exercise equipment.

But county officials are planning even more improvements this year for the sprawling 311-acre park, whose design was refined by the famous Olmsted Brothers firm in 1901.

All four park entrances will be redesigned with new signs and landscaping, according to Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. One of the golf course buildings will have a new addition to serve a local golf youth group.

The 80-acre lake, which is notorious for its summertime algae blooms, will have a fountain spray - larger than the one at Branch Brook Park, he said.

“It’s to keep the water moving,” said DiVincenzo, who was at the park one recent afternoon to pinpoint where he wanted the fountain spray to be located.

With more than $3 million in improvements in the past seven years, the park now has a synthetic grass surface baseball field, four new basketball courts, a state-of-the-art youth golf facility, modern playground equipment, and rebuilt tennis courts, according to county officials.

The Weequahic Park Association, a non-profit conservancy group that manages the park with the county said it would like to see more.

Wilbur McNeil, the association president, said the most pressing need is dredging up the lake, which has 11-feet of built-up sediment. Currently, the sediment build up is hampering use of the lake, making it so "people can’t boat," said McNeil.

The association had received $3 million in federal money back in 1998, according McNeil, but it was not enough to get the lake cleaned. Instead, it was used for a pathway around the park and lake, he said.

DiVincenzo said he doesn’t see the lake getting dredged anytime soon because he project is cost prohibitive.

Another concern is that the lake’s edges and park are choked by 10 different invasive species of plants, said Cheryl Barnes, project director for the association.

“You have to keep your hands in it or they will take over again,” she said. “They are very aggressive.”

Rich Whitten Sr., a board member of the association, said the park has declined over the years and has become a reflection of the changing prosperity in the surrounding community.

“I remember the park in its heyday in 1940s and '50s,” said Whitten, a Newark resident since 1937. “It was a magnificent park.”

Whitten said he remembers the floral beds around tennis courts, the rose garden, the boathouse at Meeker Avenue, and the horse track. People used to ride in leisure vessels in the lake too, he said.

Recent improvements are only the tip of what needs to be done, association members said. Whitten added, “It can better as it once was.”