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From YouTube: McConnell Park Ribbon Cutting
Description
In the Savin Hill neighborhood of Dorchester, expansive renovations of McConnell Park now include new sports fields, a playground, improved accessibility and climate resiliency throughout the facility. Mayor Wu celebrates these new improvements with Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ryan Woods, elected officials, and local community members.
A
Good
morning,
everyone
welcome
to
mcconnell
park
here
in
savin
hill
section
of
dorchester,
proud
to
have
everyone
here
today.
Speaking
personally,
as
a
former
savant
hill
met,
astro,
oriole
and
white
sox
that
played
on
this
very
field
30
years
ago.
This
has
been
a
30-year
dream
in
the
making
so
very
exciting
to
be
down
here
today
to
have
my
t-ball
coach
here,
somewhere
steve
hamilton
with
his
grandson
down
here
too.
So
a
long
time
coming
very
excited
for
this.
A
This
is
the
completion
of
an
8.5
million
dollar
project
and
as
the
parks
commissioner,
here
for
the
city
of
boston,
I
want
to
personally
thank
weston
and
sampson.
It
was
the
design
firm
who
helped
design
this
park
and
thank
fleming
brothers,
who
was
the
contractor
that
worked
hard
out
here
each
day
to
get
things
done.
A
I
also
want
to
thank
the
residents.
We
started
this
in
2017.
starting
design
meetings
up
at
christo
ray
and
especially
the
neighbors,
whether
it's
bill
and
andrea
and
dukey
and
patty
and
everybody
that's-
helped
give
water
and
lived
through
the
construction
of
redoing
the
parking
lot
in
the
park
for
the
past
two
years.
So
thanks
for
all
your
kindness
and
help
and
understanding
as
we
went
through
that
very
long
process,
this
park
was
a
jurisdictional
nightmare.
If
you
will,
it
has
boston
parks.
A
We
had
engagement
with
the
environment
department,
their
climate,
ready
teams
and
the
conservation
commission,
the
public
works
department,
the
transportation's
traffic
team,
the
law
department,
the
city's
water
and
sewer
commission,
the
dcr,
mepa
and,
of
course,
there's
utilities
underneath
this
park
for
eversource,
comcast
and
verizon.
So
you
can
now
understand
why
it
took
a
five-year
process
to
get
all
this
done
and
we're
here
today
to
celebrate
that
funding
was
provided
from
the
mayor's
capital
improvement
plan
with
a
one
million
dollar
land
and
water.
A
Con
conservation
grant,
and
this
full
renovation
includes
a
state-of-the-art
little
league
field
with
full
irrigation.
We
have
a
multi-purpose
socket
area
in
the
middle.
We
have
a
softball
area
in
the
back
and
we
have
an
inclusion
field
there
for
kids
with
disabilities
t-balls
clinics
all
in
the
far
southwest
corner.
So
this
really
with
a
new
playground,
new
walking
paths
all
accessible.
A
B
B
B
B
Green
spaces
like
this
one,
are
absolutely
necessary
for
our
mental
and
physical
health
and
their
powerful
tools
in
the
fight
against
climate
change,
and
so
we're
looking
to
the
the
specific
infrastructure
changes
that
I
know.
Allison
and
our
partners
at
the
u.s
army
corps
of
engineers
will
go
into
about
how
the
berms
were
installed.
B
The
green
infrastructure
that
we
can
recognize
as
beautiful
places
to
play
and
and
grassy
spots
are
in
fact,
important
tools
and
and
barriers
for
the
water
to
protect
our
residents
all
the
way
in
our
neighborhoods
in
2018,
two
nor'easters
brought
tidal
surges,
high
winds
and
flooding
that
damage
this
park's
infrastructure
and
nearby
properties,
and
so,
in
response,
the
u.s
army
corps
of
engineers
collaborated
with
state
and
federal
partners
to
install
the
high
watermark
signs
for
flood
safety
awareness
in
our
communities.
B
We
can't
prevent
nor'easters
and
other
intense
storms,
but
we
can
do
our
best
to
be
prepared
for
them
and
to
ensure
that,
from
community
education
to
the
physical
infrastructure
that
we're
making
the
most
of
our
coastal
area
and
enjoying
it
throughout
all
the
year
as
well
parks
like
this
one
also
don't
just
defend
against
flooding.
They
clean
our
city's
water
and
reduce
air
pollution,
which
we
know
disproportionately
impacts
communities
of
color
here
in
boston,
and
so
as
we
continue
to
work
to
make
boston
the
greenest
city
in
the
country.
B
C
D
Good
morning,
everybody
thank
you
for
coming
out.
It's
a
long
way.
Ryan
had
mentioned
it's
a
long
way
from
the
fields
we
all
grew
up
playing
on,
but
what
a?
What
a
really
really
great
design,
I'd
like
to
thank
mayor
wu
for
her
continued
support
for
this
project
in
this
neighborhood.
Here,
I'd
like
to
thank
my
my
colleagues
for
coming
out
dan
hunt,
aaron
murphy
and
rusi
luizen.
Thank
you
very
much.
Welcome
to
saving
hill
welcome
to
the
beach
in
the
park.
The
ryan
did
a
great
job.
D
D
Yeah,
give
it
up
for
ryan
and
and
everybody
in
the
parks
department,
from
your
design
into
your
laborers,
but
ryan
was
that
bridge
between
the
two
chris
and
the
previous
administration,
the
walsh
administration,
which
thank
you
for
that
and
and
being
able
to
hold
everything
together
and
for
us
to
be
able
to
gather
here
today
and
have
this
beautiful
space
which,
which
goes
from
it,
speaks
to
resiliency
here
on
the
water.
D
If
it
has
the
the
fields
for
the
challenger
league,
which
is
very
very
special
first
in
the
in
the
state,
I
believe
and
then
also
the
the
regular
fields
that
we
have
to
play
on.
So
all
in
all
thank
the
neighbors
for,
for
you
know,
living
through
the
construction
and
and
and
allowing
us
to
get
to
this
point.
D
E
Good
morning,
everyone,
hello
steven
hill,
my
name
is
rutsey
luigen,
one
of
your
at-large
city,
councilors
really
happy
to
be
here
today
and
want
to
just
echo
the
comments
of
my
colleague,
frank
baker.
This
is
a
labor
of
love.
I've
only
been
on
the
council
for
six
months
now
and
we
get
calls
from
constituents
all
the
time
like
we
want
to
improve
our
park.
E
We
need
improvement
park
and
I
you
know,
call
someone
administration
and
like
it's
not
that
simple,
and
I
think
this
is
an
example
of
how
it's
not
that
simple,
because
it
involves
so
many
different
departments
coming
together.
Thinking
about
our
climate,
our
climate
change
issues
that
we
have
to
face,
and
so
this
is
a
result
of
a
labor
of
love
by
so
many.
So
I'm
not
going
to
name
everyone
again,
but
I
just
want
to
thank
everyone.
We
see
from
our
young
folks
who
are
here
our
young
kids,
that
they
love
parks.
E
I
grew
up
in
mattapan
right
on
the
lower
mills
line.
My
parks
are
on
my
parks
and
libraries.
Our
public
spaces
demand
investment
as
public
goods
and
I
could
see
the
excitement
where
I
walked
here
and
there
were
kids
from
the
the
teen
center
at
st
peters,
who
are
here
to
enjoy
the
park
and
and
to
see
what
it
looks
like
to
invest
in
them
and
to
invest
in
our
community.
F
Good
morning,
everyone
and
good
morning
columbia,
savannah
hill.
It's
so
great
to
see
so
many
of
the
neighbors
came
out
and
also
it
was
great
to
see
that
we
have
our
youth
teen
workers,
who
are
here
with
our
sports
center
summer,
camp
kids
and
we're
already
seeing
yay
we're
already
seeing
kids
using
the
fields
and
neighborhood
kids
out
in
the
playground.
So
this
is
a
success,
success
story
and
it's
because
we're
working
together.
So
thank
you
again
to
ryan
woods
in
the
boston
parks
department,
but
also
dcr
and
our
nate.
F
Our
friends
at
the
state
representative
dan
hunt
will
be
speaking
after
me,
but
working
collaboratively
together
is
what
makes
these
things
possible.
So
I'm
here
to
just
say
this
is
such
a
great
thing,
and
I
know
when
my
kids
were
growing
up.
Cedar,
grove,
baseball
and
seven
hill
baseball
were
two
different
things,
but
now
it's
one
dorchester
baseball.
So
when
I'm
coming
to
my
nieces
and
nephews
games
and
from
here
watching
the
challenger
games,
we're
going
to
be
here
on
this
amazing
little
league
field.
F
So
thank
you
for
this
investment
and
we'll
make
sure
that
we
keep
it
nice
for
this
neighborhood,
which
is
so
deserving
so
have
a
great
day,
enjoy
the
park,
and
thank
you
to
my
counselor,
frank
baker,
who
always
advocates
so
strongly
for
his
neighbors,
I'm
so
proud
to
call
him
my
city
councilor.
So
thank
you.
G
Good
morning
welcome
to
savin
hill,
it's
represented
by
bug
who's.
My
chief
of
staff's
brother.
I
want
to
thank
all
of
you,
the
neighbors
as
council,
baker
and
others
have
said
dealing
with
the
development
and
countless
meetings.
I
see
mike
christopher,
who
was
an
aide
for
a
chief
staff
for
marty
walsh
when
he
was
the
rep.
I
was
at
dcr
as
government
affairs
director
when
these
conversations
started
in
earnest.
I
see
the
former
commissioner
of
dcr
jack
murray
over
here.
G
We've
had
a
lot
of
conversations
over
the
years
because
of
the
overlap
in
space,
obviously
thanking
mayor
walsh
for
putting
this
in
action
mayor
janie
for
continuing
that
work
and
mayor
wu
for
continuing
those
commitments
across
the
city,
not
just
here
like
all
of
the
dcr
parks
and
state
parks.
They
tend
to
be
regional
assets
and,
as
councillor
legend
said,
you
know,
as
we
see
folks
get
off
the
team
come
and
enjoy
these
public
spaces.
G
A
I'm
so
fortunate
in
my
cabinet
of
energy
environment,
open
space
to
have
a
partner
in
government
in
our
environment.
Commissioner,
who's
gonna
talk
about
some
of
the
exciting
resiliency
measures
that
are
taking
place
in
this
park.
Please
welcome
dr
allison
brizias.
H
Thank
you,
ryan
and
good
morning.
All
I'd
like
to
add
my
voice
joining
to
welcome
you
to
this
beautiful
newly
renovated
mcconnell
park.
As
commissioner
woods
said,
my
name
is
allison
brizias
and
I'm
the
commissioner
of
the
city's
environment
department,
I'd
first
like
to
just
take
another
moment
to
thank
mayor
wu,
our
green
new
deal
mayor,
who
has
been
leading
the
charge
on
climate
change
in
the
city
and
particularly
today,
for
her
commitment
to
climate
resilience
and
beautiful,
open
spaces
like
this
as
a
part
of
our
city.
H
I'd
also
like
to
thank
commissioner
woods,
the
counselors,
the
representative
and
sheila
warren
from
the
army
corps,
who
is
here
today
as
the
mayor
discussed
parks,
can
play
such
a
critical
role
in
our
city's
resilience,
especially
in
areas
like
mcconnell,
where
we're
seeing
more
frequent
and
intense
flooding
from
sea
level
rise
and
as
climate
continues
to
change,
we
will
see
more
of
this
with
more
frequent
and
intense
storms.
That's
why
mcconnell
is
particularly
critical.
H
It's
one
of
our
first,
but
certainly
not
our
last
resilient
and
adapted
parks
in
the
city.
It
boasts
many
climate
ready
features
that
I'm
going
to
talk
to
you
about
a
few
of
them
today.
First,
this
is
a
part.
That's
able
to
flood
it's
built
with
materials
that
are
going
to
reduce
the
impacts
and
reduce
the
maintenance
so
that
it
can
withstand
the
increasing
pace
of
storms
that
will
come
in
the
future
it
also
while
it
maintains
access
and
connection
to
the
water.
H
I'd
like
to
just
say
that,
as
we've,
we've
worked
to
increase
the
resilience
in
the
infrastructure
and
the
design
of
mcconnell
park.
We've
also
partnered
with
the
state
and
our
federal
partners
at
the
army
corps
to
increase
public
awareness
of
both
the
flood
risk
and
what
we
are
doing
to
to
address
it.
Sheila
warren
from
the
army
corps
is
about
to
step
up
here
next,
to
talk
more
about
that
project
and
the
plans
and
how
we've.
H
Thank
you
to
all
of
the
wonderful
partners
that
were
involved
in
this
project,
mayor
wu
again,
commissioner,
woods
in
the
parks
department
and
the
wonderful
team
at
the
environment,
department,
kade,
nick
moreno
and
kate,
o'thymer
and
kat
mccandless
and
kathy
baker,
eclipse
and
obviously
the
army
corps
of
engineers,
dcr
mima,
fema,
usgs,
noaa
and
the
national
weather
service.
Thank
you
all
for
being
such
strong
partners
and
allies
in
this
work
and
I'm
going
to
hand
it
over
to
sheila.
Now.
I
I
The
two
of
them
have
put
together
the
rest
of
the
team,
which
includes
the
corps
of
engineers,
which
is
a
federal
partner.
The
usgs,
which
is
the
united
states
genealogical
survey
and
on
noaa,
which
is
national
ocean
national
atmospheric
oceanic
agency,
which
has
two
partners
in
here,
and
one
is
the
national
weather
service
and
the
other
one
is
the
office
for
coastal
management
and
the
city
of
boston
applied
for
mon
for
funding
to
do
this
actual
project,
which
is
called
a
high
watermark
project.
I
This
is
one
of
many
high
mark
projects
all
over
the
country
that
silver
jackets
teams
have
put
together
so
that
they
can
explain
to
the
community
how
to
be
more
resilient
to
floods,
to
be
aware
of
the
floods
and
to
help
people
come
up
with
ideas
for
the
flood
risk
mitigation
and
all
all
types
of
information.
Because,
as
everyone
here
has
mentioned,
the
floods
aren't
going
to
stop.
The
storms
aren't
going
to
stop.
I
There
were
a
number
of
stores,
not
just
one,
and
then
if
sea
level
rise
rises,
a
little
bit
then
there's
another
there's
another
that
we
call
the
medallions
and
that's
where
the
sea
level
rise.
I
Potential
could
be
for
that
kind
of
storm
and
then,
if
there's
extreme
sea
level
rise,
there's
an
even
higher
mark,
which
is
over
my
head,
which
is
a
very
a
graphic
description
of
how
people
can
have
an
idea
of
how
high
the
water
did
come
and
how
high
it
possibly
could
be,
and
there's
also
an
interactive
sign
a
little
bit
further
down.
That
shows
the
actual
water
that
was
in
here
during
2018
and
so
with
my
federal
partners,
state
partners
in
the
city
of
boston.
I
A
A
This
is
in
his
jurisdiction
as
well,
so
you
will
see
him
in
the
community
here
we're
joined
by
members
of
the
veterans
commission
as
well,
because
I
think
it's
very
important
and
a
lot
of
our
properties
are
named
after
a
veteran,
so
the
rock
behind
me
anyone
that's
from
the
neighborhood
knows
it
used
to
be
up
on
the
hill
here
we
want
to
put
in
a
more
prominent
spot
and
we
have
a
temporary
marker
because,
with
everything
else
that
is
delayed,
so
is
bronze,
so
until
the
official
bronze
is
in,
we
have
a
marker
up
here,
but
honoring
captain
joseph
mcconnell.
A
This
original
plaque
that
was
dedicated
to
him
was
dedicated
on
september
11
1921..
He
was
a
captain
in
the
first
battalion
101st
infantry
who
lost
his
life
in
france
during
world
war,
one
so
there's
some
interpretive
signage
to
educate
and
inform
people
who
mcconnell
was,
and,
as
the
september
12
1921
boston
globe
stated
over
10
000
people
joined
down
at
this
park.
For
that
dedication
with
bands
all
the
way
walking
from
carman
square
to
mcconnell
park,
so
we're
here
to
honor
him
and
to
make
people
aware.
A
We
now
have
the
exciting
part
we'd
like
to
have
some
kids
and
families,
and
our
elected
officials
join
us
right
up
here
in
front
for
an
official
ribbon
cutting
here.
So
if
we
just
take
a
minute
to
get
into
place
and
we'll
wait
for
john's
q
here
to
tell
us
when
we
should
cut.
A
Mcconnell
park's
officially
open.
Thank
you
for
joining
us
hope.
You
enjoyed
many
days
down
here
at
the
park.
We
would
ask
our
state
and
local
elected
officials
to
join
us
as
we're
gonna
walk
down
the
path
to
unveil
some
of
the
climate
resiliency
signage.
If
you
anyone's
welcome
to
join.