Save the Red Hook Ball Fields!

I was trying to write a post about this subject earlier, but technology conspired against me and erased everything I wrote before it got on the site. A few minutes later, when I was on my way to an appointment, I got a call from a producer for the Brian Lehrer show to go on air to talk about this.

It was a good segment (listen here), with former Parks Comm. Henry Stern and vendor organizer Cesar Fuentes. Both Fuentes and Stern insisted that there's a lot of love between Parks and the vendors -- which I'm sure is true, and I wouldn't blame Cesar for playing nice even if it wasn't -- but I had to insert the slightly cynical perspective that organizing around this has definitely helped the cause of the vendors.

As I did on air, I give first credit to organizing by the vendors themselves. The mobilization of food writers, foodies (a lot of whom work in media), and bloggers helped, too. Chuck Schumer may be a media slut, but I think his press conference at the Ball Fields on Saturday (as opposed to his customary Sunday morning presser; something tells me he chose Saturday so as not to compete with the PR Day Parade) added a nice official-ish push to help the vendors.

Despite how Stern interpreted my comments, I don't think there's anything wrong with regularizing concessions. But I also think you need to encourage ground-up development of projects that help working-class communities develop their own institutions. The city could not have created the Red Hook Ball Fields. Latinos from Red Hook did that.

Don't forget to show your support by writing Parks Comm. Benepe here or at adrian.benepe@parks.nyc.gov, or Red Hook Councilwoman Sara Gonzalez at gonzalez@council.nyc.ny.us.

[Carne Asada Huarache via PorkChop Express]