Two tales from the city in time of trouble – Santa Fe New Mexican

After SWAN Park opened almost six years ago, Jerry Joyce settled in as its unofficial, unpaid, outspoken caretaker.

Joyce, who lives near the south-side regional park, can still envision what drove him. Weeds approaching 3 feet high had sprouted on the unused baseball field.

Joyce in the 1960s played baseball at St. Johns University in New York. As a purist of his sport, he said the ugly surface at SWAN Park weighed on him. He called and emailed various people in city government for help. They kept ignoring it, Joyce said. I went down and cleaned up all the weeds in 13 hours. My message was heres what a 71-year-old with bad knees does.

What followed were years of Joyce providing upkeep in the park and prodding city government to uphold its end on maintenance. His photos of the untidy grounds, along with his emails to city councilors and municipal workers, fill a binder.

Now 75, Joyce still reports maintenance problems at the park. But, he says, hes finished investing sweat equity on upkeep.

Im not going to go down there to pull weeds anymore. All I wanted was to see some effort in the other direction.

He said there were hints of progress after John Muoz became director of parks and recreation in 2018. Muoz resigned from his city job this month, leaving Joyce without his most-trusted contact at City Hall.

Gates to the fenced playing field at SWAN Park are locked to stop an onslaught of ATV and motorcycle riders from tearing up sod that never measured up to Joyces standards.

Actually, SWANs field has been closed to public access since 2017, less than two full seasons after opening, Joyce said.

I asked the city staff about the fields status.

Melissa McDonald, acting parks division director, said team play is not being permitted in accordance with the governors order against close contact during the coronavirus pandemic.

As restrictions are lifted, we will start allowing such activities, McDonald wrote in an email.

She said her agency has a maintenance plan to improve all its playing fields.

Access to SWAN Parks field will be allowed through the dugouts once the grass recovers a bit more, McDonald said.

Joyce will be watching, but his expectations of a clean, fully functioning park are low after years of promises from city staffers.

They are extremely good at lip service, he said.

Across the city from Joyces neighborhood, only a few minutes from downtown Santa Fe, another older resident has a memory she cannot shake.

Disabled and ill, she awaited a friend who was delivering soup. The woman, 71, heard someone at her door. She says she made the mistake of opening it without checking the peephole.

A man with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm stared at her. Terrified, she closed the door and phoned police.

The man had disappeared by the time officers arrived. He left evidence of his presence, having deposited his needle under her welcome mat. Police disposed of the needle.

Its been a difficult several months for the woman. She was infected with COVID-19, and she says her neighborhood recently has taken on an atmosphere of tension almost as great as the October day the drug user appeared at her door.

I wear hearing aids, but I take them off at night. I can still hear people outside making noise and drinking, she said Thursday.

Her fears, she told me, have escalated since city government recently stopped allowing homeless people to camp in parks during the pandemic. A number of people have shifted to spots near her apartment.

The woman praised Mayor Alan Webber and the City Council for clearing the parks, which had been trashed and vandalized by campers. Theres been fallout, though.

A caregiver during her life, the woman says she feels compassion for vulnerable people. But now, she says, she is in that category.

Starting at 4:30, they camp out in their makeshift tents and drink and carouse, she said.

She stays inside her apartment, ready to again summon police if necessary. Its not what she had in mind for this stage of her life.

Some might say shes overreacting. Thats a convenient assessment if youve never seen someone turn your homes entryway into a shooting gallery.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.

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Two tales from the city in time of trouble - Santa Fe New Mexican