A new soccer field will open in Syracuse’s North Side neighborhood next spring after New York state Sen. John DeFrancisco secured a $100,000 grant for the park’s reconstruction.

The field, which was previously a baseball diamond, will be built at Schiller Park. Some said a soccer field would be more appropriate for area residents, many of whom are refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

“We try to be culturally sensitive, which is why we changed the baseball field — which no one was using — to a soccer field, which is something that the kids are interested in,” said Peggy Chase, an Onondaga County legislator who represents the 9th District, which includes portions of the North Side.

Jay Subedi, a refugee from Bhutan, relocated to Syracuse nine years ago after living in a refugee camp. He plays soccer at Schiller Park every day, he said, but the park conditions weren’t good.

“It was not even and well-maintained ground,” Subedi said. “There are not many fields in the North Side that have a soccer field. So we make (Schiller Park) as the soccer field.”

Subedi said he has been fighting for years for the soccer field. In 2010, he visited the Syracuse City Hall to ask for a soccer field in the Schiller Park area, he said.

Many kids in the neighborhood didn’t have access to transportation, so they were going to other areas to play soccer, he added.

Lazarus Sims, commissioner of Syracuse city parks, said the park needed a renovation.

There are many parks in the city that need repair work, including Eastwood area parks. The area’s neighborhood association is trying to raise money to get a better playground, he said.

Subedi said he cannot wait to start playing soccer again. Schiller Park hosted a World Refugee Day, a soccer tournament and a mini World Cup for two years, he said.

“Everyone plays all kinds of sports,” Sims said. “But in the Schiller Park area, people play soccer.”

 

Published on October 25, 2017 at 10:25 pm

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