ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A newly resurfaced basketball court at “one of the best parks in the Lehigh Valley” welcomed dozens of kids this week for its grand reopening.
More than $100,000 in upgrades were poured into Bucky Boyle Park in what Mayor Matt Tuerk said was just the “first phase” of a larger revamp.
That money, from the city and Trexler Trust, paid for refreshed basketball courts, LED lighting that will let people play longer, benches and a new water fountain to refill water bottles.
“This is how communities come together. This is the value of public space, and this is momentum.”Mayor Matt Tuerk
It also bought a new fence, which worked a treat during this year’s Easter Egg hunt, he told LehighValleyNews.com.
“This is how communities come together,” Tuerk said. “This is the value of public space, and this is momentum.”
Allentown’s First and Sixth wards, which are served by Bucky Boyle Park, are “a place that fights for what it deserves,” Tuerk said
He credited residents in the area for not letting city officials forget about them.
“There is more to come,” the mayor said.
Allentown A's 'bring these parks to life'
City officials paid tribute to the Allentown Athletics Youth Sports Association, better known as the Allentown A’s.
“You are an essential part of what makes Bucky Boyle Park so special,” Lucinda Wright, deputy director of parks and recreation, told Allentown A’s leaders, coaches and mentors.
“These are the moments that really bring these parks to life."Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
The mayor said they “bring energy and mentorship” and “excitement” to the many children who play in the organization’s basketball and football games and participate in its cheerleading program.
“These are the moments that really bring these parks to life,” Tuerk said.
Allentown A’s leader April Riddick, whom Tuerk called “the Mayor of Bucky Boyle Park,” called the park a “focal point for the neighborhood.”
Investments show the park is “going to stay” for the long run, Tuerk said.
'Structure and guidance'
Ebonee McPherson won several basketball championships at the park as a kid.
He said he returned about five years ago to help restart basketball for the Allentown A’s because “there was a void” for kids in the neighborhood.
The Allentown A's organization is "an essential part of what makes Bucky Boyle Park so special."Lucinda Wright, deputy director of parks and recreation
The organization provides them with “structure and guidance,” and city officials’ investment in the courts at Bucky Boyle Park shows “that they care” about young residents, McPherson said.
The upgraded courts should also help the Allentown A’s grow its basketball program, he said.
“That’s the goal,” McPherson said.
The coach of the Allentown A’s 120-pound boys team said he hopes future phases of the bring a youth center to the large stretch of city-owned land along the Lehigh River.
McPherson said he’d welcome a project to upgrade the baseball field to a stadium, too.
