Fencing out fields of dreams
SO MUCH for romantic visions of families bicycling together, with little Johnny and Jamila wobbling on training wheels. So much for teens who actually disconnect from Facebook for facetime, community cleanup, and - good heavens - exercise.
No, no, no. Some people are so divorced from society that they see this as almost evil.
In Sudbury, a group of people rose up to oppose a rail trail. They complain, to a ludicrous point, that dreaded masses of cyclists, joggers, and elders out for strolls will scare away wildlife. Never mind that a big reason for rail trails is to get people out of their cars to stop spewing global warming gases that will destroy wildlife. One opponent told the Globe that rail trail advocates are "like a cult."
In Greenwich, Conn., some neighbors do not like the fact that a dozen or so teenagers took over a vacant half-acre town lot that was so overrun that one youth got a swollen eye from poison ivy while clearing the brush. They did it to create not an open-air drug den or a binge-drinking parlor or an orgy room.
They did it to play Wiffle ball. And bless their little Southern New England hearts. Even though they live much closer to Yankee Stadium than Fenway Park, they turned scavenged plywood into a 12-foot high "Green Monster." They hung an American flag out in left field and posted an ad for a slush drink. The teens have a rule that if a batter hits a home run, the pitcher has to buy the batter the drink. Like kids on makeshift fields of decades past, they did not mind that this one is often soggy.
"If you step on first base, it's like quicksand," Tim Bellantoni, 17, told the Stamford Advocate. "Your foot gets stuck."
But the field stepped on too many toes. Because the lot is in wealthy Greenwich, its reported value, poison ivy or not, is $1.25 million. Abutting neighbors worried about property values brought in the lawyers to create an aura of hooligans squatting without permits, breaking liquor bottles, stealing tools and - get this - threatening a wetland.
According to the Greenwich Time, the town's soil expert was brought in, who declared that the field was not a wetland.
The extent to which neighbors are trying to drive off the teens had 17-year-old Jeff Currivan telling The
What is really at play in Sudbury and Greenwich is a cult of privilege impeding some refreshing American impulses. As regards to the rail trail, Sudbury opponents are using the environment to cover up NIMBYism. I have seen fox, deer, eagles, herons, and hawks on bike trails. The trail will surely not hurt property values. Three years ago, the Globe reported that homes along or near the Minuteman Bikeway, recently named to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's hall of fame, were worth 4 to 5 percent more.
That is with 2 million users a year. Jack Johnson, chairperson of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee has said of the trail, "There is a sense of community here." Arlington realtor Brian Greely said, "The path is one of the crown jewels in the area. We're in an age where physical fitness is a high priority. Having access to a bike path is analogous to years ago of having a house across from a park or playground."
The Wiffle ball controversy cuts even more to what we have stolen from children and what these teens were trying to claim back. In a 1993 Newsday feature on Wiffle ball, a Long Island high school guidance counselor said she enjoyed the games her teenage son organized in her backyard, to the point of grilling hot dogs and hamburgers for players, families, and friends.
"My son takes a lot of pride in his field and I think it's a very healthy outlet for him and his friends. I just hope my neighbors don't mind the night games."
It would be a home run if the neighbors in Greenwich did not mind Wiffle ball at all.
Derrick Z. Jackson can be reached at jackson@globe.com.
