Fight video sparks battle to take back Cook Street Park

LYNN – A girl fight seen round the country has served as the impetus for two local groups to come together and reclaim Cook Street Park.”Any use keeps vandalism and negative elements at bay,” said Calvin Anderson who is spearheading an effort to rebuild the flower garden area of the park. “If you give up they take over but we’re taking this park back.”Made up of cascading terraces surround by a historic WPA (Work Progress Administration) stone walls that also include a basketball court and playground area, Cook Street Playground was severely neglected.After the fist fight between two high school girls went viral in 2012 two groups, Anderson and his band of volunteers and the Highland’s Coalition decided changes were in order.Over the past year Coalition member David Gass has been meeting with park neighbors and city officials to secure permission to launch a community garden, similar to the one he helps with at the Ford School.Over the past few weeks, Anderson, along with volunteers have been systematically dismantling Gateway Park just off Sagamore Street and moving it plant by plant to Cook Street.Anderson said the lower level of the park, just north of the basketball court, was historically a flower garden and he aimed to revive it. He said he knew when he and a handful of volunteers started Gateway it would be temporary because Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development already had its plan in the works to revamp the area. He decided to relocateGateway Park and rededicate it as Gateway Memorial Garden.A park bench flanked on both ends with butterfly bushes anchors the small area. Anderson is worried about two spiraea shrubs that have been replanted and appear to be mostly dead.”Not everything will survive the move but we’ll nurse these,” he said.A handful of other shrubs seem to be faring better and he plans to add bulbs, clear away weeds and transplant clover to offer a natural buffer along the garden’s path.”We’ll also add pavers here,” he said standing just beyond the bench. “Because grass is really not ?green.’ It needs to be cut and it takes an inordinate amount of water.”He said he also sees a future dedication and maybe poetry readings taking place in the area.Above the basketball courts tucked into the corner of the top terrace of the park is the Highland Coalition’s new community garden.”When we started building it – one day we had 90 people show up to help,” he said. “We have signed up 27 people committed to plots and we have over 2,000 plants growing at the Ford School garden to plant here.”A fence was also installed to help keep dogs out of the garden but it is easily accessible through an opening in the stone wall.He said he is hoping the garden will become a family-friendly spot like the one at the Ford School where there are weekly potluck meals during the summer. There will also likely be a dedication ceremony in August when the garden is in full bloom, he added.Like Anderson he said he is looking for good energy to chase out the bad.”We’re hoping to reverse a trend,” he said. “We’re trying to combine forces.”Chris Stevens can be reached at [email protected].