NEW IBERIA — The Li'l Brooklyn Neighborhood in New Iberia is making progress in bringing life back into the area. Its newest addition, a community park, is aimed not only at bringing more children into the neighborhood, but it also encourages community involvement.
"We're just excited that the community decided to reinvest in this community," says Heather Dominique, the Superintendent for the city's Parks and Recreation Department. "They're interested in revitalizing and helping the city to revamp our parks, so they're taking a personal interest in that as well."
Dominique says that the community's involvement is key in bringing life back into New Iberia.
"The city can only do so much," she says. "Once the community understands the importance of their involvement, it really does become a win-win situation."
The Li'l Brooklyn Park is one of the many ways that the city hopes to get more people into the area. Gabriella Johnson, a mother of five children and a resident of Li'l Brooklyn, says that she was ready to move out of the area until she began to see the progress of restoring it.
"It's nice to see the community coming together to try and improve it," she says. "It makes me want to stay here, and it makes me want to stick around and help out too."
As for the children in the neighborhood, Dominique believes that they will benefit from it most, with fresh and bright colors on the existing swing set and basketball courts, and brand new play equipment.
"The kids are very excited," she says. "They have already come out here and have taken a look at some of the new playground equipment and I just think it's a great thing for the area and for the city as a whole."
Dominique says that the city has recently purchased the lot adjacent to the park and is planning to build a pavilion there for families to enjoy.
The Li'l Brooklyn Neighborhood Initiative is entirely made up of community members coming together and volunteering their time for the bettering of a small community in the city of New Iberia. You can visit their Facebook page to find out how you can help.
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