Cleanup begins for Hartford parks

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Despite the rain, cleanup crews are hard at work at Keney Park in Hartford.

Cuttting back weeds, picking up litter and mowing the lawn are just some of the maintenance happening at  Keney Park.

"The shape that it's in, it's not acceptable and we need to educate the community to take care of it as well," Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said. "So it's a civic engagement project as much as it is a preservation project."

The mayor is on-hand to kick off the "Week of the Parks" program, part of a push to improve the quality of life in the capital city. Thirty seasonal workers have been hired, but all this will take more manpower than that. So, the call's gone out for volunteers. Eighty have signed up already.

"Hartford's parks are one of its greatest resources and so there are a lot of people both in Hartford and the surrounding communities that want to help get them back into tip top shape," said Ryan O'Halloran of Knox Parks Foundation.

And they're not just here to clean, but to fix it up. Fix areas such as the aging baseball backstop and the crumbling basketball court. The idea? Create a space to exercise and enjoy, and put the heart back into Hartford.

"It's a great park. It's a very famous park," Segarra said. "It was done by the Olmstead Firm which also designed Central Park in New York City so this is a treasure and we have to treat it as a treasure."

Colt Park, Goodwin and Bushnell will also be cleaned up this week.