Plainfield Summer: Public Safety, Education, Redevelopment, and Quality of Life

Fishing at Cedar Brook Park

Public safety, education and development of our youth, redevelopment of Plainfield, and a decent quality of life for our residents are among the things that are top priorities for me as Mayor.

During the summertime, as we experience extended periods of day light and most people want to enjoy the outdoors, my administration has been working hard to ensure that there are quality activities available for all, especially for our youth.

Young people love having fun in the pool during the hot summer days and we have ensured that all three public pools are opened until 6:00 pm each day. Trained lifeguards are on duty and breakfast and lunch are provided for pool patrons. Our parks are opened for everyone to enjoy, and the popular "Hooked on Fishing, not Drugs" program is once more inviting people to join them on Saturday mornings for fishing lessons. Of course, you may opt to fish on your own and, to that end, we have stocked several of the ponds around town.

Our Parks and Recreation Department continues to be responsive to the recreational needs of our community by providing guided activities such as Lego Robotics, Swim Lessons, Art in the Park, and Double Dutch, just to name a few. 

Plainfield, let me reassure you: we are committed to keeping our young people safely occupied and off the street, and we will continue to provide these programs for them as well as for our older active adults.

Not to be outdone, our Health Department will be offering free Zumba classes in the near future. Part of having a good quality of life means staying healthy, and we are committed to a healthy lifestyle for all in our community.

Our Police Department has been actively involved in engaging the community and particularly the youth with several social initiatives. They have committed to having a picnic in each of our wards throughout the summer. The recent community barbecue at Hannah Atkins Park was fun and well attended--the next barbecue is scheduled for this coming Friday, July 22nd (details of which are included in my weekly newsletter).

The Police Division has several other programs which entail young people working closely with Police Officers and having the opportunity to be mentored by them.  To paraphrase Proverbs 16:27, "idle hands are the devil's workshop," so all these programs are geared toward empowering our young people and providing alternatives to idle activity.

Our Public Library is a great resource when looking for activities, they have several Xbox tournaments which run weekly as well as other interactive and informative programs....

Plainfield is a great place to hang out for summer fun.... We have our annual National Night Out fast approaching on Tuesday, August 2nd, which will feature a car show for the first time, refreshments, and fun. In addition, we plan to provide book bags and school supplies for at least 400 Plainfield children. When we say we are serious about providing tools to educate our youth, it's not a commitment we take lightly, and we are finding creative ways to make it happen.

Take a walk downtown and sample our international fare at our restaurants. Here in Plainfield, you can find a diversity of activity: from Bike races, to parades...from concerts to barbecues...from pool fun to Xbox racing...from Tex-Mex to gourmet eats....

Our little city is chock full of things to do and see this summer and I hope to see you out and about in Plainfield. Have a happy, fun-filled summer!

Creating One Plainfield - One Future,

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp

City of Plainfield


 

Eric Watson, Director of Public Works and Urban Development

Eric Watson, photo by Bernice Paglia

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the sudden passing of our friend and colleague, Director of Public Works and Urban Development, Eric Watson. A longtime Plainfield resident, Eric was a valued member of the administration and a great friend to many. More information will be shared as it becomes available. 

 

In the meantime, please keep his wife, Tanya, and their entire family in your prayers. May his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed, through the mercy of God, rest in eternal peace.

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp

City of Plainfield

"The Weakness of Violence"

Dear Plainfield Community,

As a nation we are truly stunned and saddened by the tragic events that have unfolded over the past few days.

While the shooting deaths of Philando Castile of Minnesota and Alton Sterling of Louisiana are still under investigation, we can agree that any loss of life is tragic. Seemingly needless tragedy makes the loss even harder to bear.

Compounding these tragedies are the deaths of five police officers and the wounding of seven in Dallas, Texas. An act of violence as a retaliatory tactic achieves nothing but needless loss of life and only begets more violence. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that “If we do an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we will be a blind and toothless nation.”

My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims and families of these horrendous events. It is apparent that as a nation something has been broken. Somewhere there is a disconnect that has caused a breakdown in the trust that should exist between Law Enforcement Officers and members of the public.

While there are no fast fixes there has to be a way forward to find accord, and it can only happen if everyone is willing to come together without prejudice and with open minds and hearts.

Plainfield, despite the challenges that we experience here, we can be grateful that there is a great relationship that exists between our law-enforcement forces and our community.

Our officers are our neighbors, our family, our friends and they are a part of the fabric that makes up our diverse city.

Since rolling out our body camera program complaints against our local police force has dropped by 60%. While that overall number was never high to begin with, this still represents a significant drop and demonstrates that there is a high level of trust between our officers and our residents.

Our officers are out on the streets every day interacting with members of the community. They are active in our schools and have created several programs which allows them to interact with and mentor many of our young people. We take great pains to vet all incoming officers and ensure they are residents of Plainfield. They have a vested interest in finding peaceful resolutions as far as possible without endangering the lives of themselves or others.

Plainfield's law enforcement officers even go one step further in sponsoring local cookouts and block parties. They are truly committed to ensuring that the bonds between themselves and the community remain strong and trustworthy and we are fortunate to have these types of officers in our city.

As we go about our business over this weekend let’s take a moment to remember those who have gone from us, let’s try to remove our anger and our resentment and think of the lives lost. Let’s try to think how we can as individuals help to influence and make a difference in this situation.

Today I leave you with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which are as important now as they were when first uttered:

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.
                                                                       --Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Creating One Plainfield - One Future,

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp

City of Plainfield

Gun Violence is the Scourge of the 21st Century - No City is Immune

When someone you love is taken violently and unexpectedly away from you, there is nothing that anyone can say to make it right. The truth is that gun violence has far reaching implications when it comes to its impact on our community.

Here in Plainfield as in many other places around the country, we have not been immune to our share of tragedy. We have lost loved ones, we have grieved and asked our share of questions. The sad fact is that no matter how dedicated our law enforcement officers are, and no matter how many improvements are made as we increase our vigilance in the war against criminal activity, there can never be one hundred percent surety of safety until hard action is taken in the fight for gun reform.

Eighty nine (89) people die from gun violence in the US every day... and that is a statistic that touches every single city in this country, there is no place that is immune, and while this may seem like an isolated fight here in our beloved city, it is not.... It is a battle that is being waged all around us as we fight as a nation to keep our loved ones safe. Part of our healing in recovering from tragedies caused by gun violence has to be the conviction that we will not accept this as our status quo, and we will do everything in our power to prevent it from happening again.

So, what can we do in Plainfield to join the fight in combating this 21st century scourge? How can we join the fray as we say, "not here--not now--not in our city...." There are no quick and easy solutions. 

As your Mayor, I want to tell you that you can walk out with assurance that a bullet will never find anyone you care about...but, as long as there are laws that put guns in the hands of unfit people, I can't do that....

I want to be able to tell you that you will never have to worry about an innocent bystander losing his life because he happened to be standing in the wrong spot...but, as long as Congress allows itself to be manipulated by special interest groups, I can't do that....

Until we have mandatory mental health screenings for potential gun owners, I can't do that....

Until there are laws governing renewal of gun permits that are at least as strict as those governing your driver's license, I can't do that....

As long as every day citizens are allowed to own and carry assault weapons, I can't do that....

Until there are laws that prohibit the flow of weapons of mass destruction into our community...I can't do that.

So, what can I do? I can continue to support our law enforcement officers and the work they do 100 percent. I promise you that there are new initiatives taking shape even now within the Plainfield Police Division to tackle the challenges we are facing. I will continue to work steadfastly with our State legislators to enact changes to our current gun laws. I will assemble some of the best minds, community leaders, professionals, and educators in the coming weeks to help chart our course forward and to lead us out of the valley of despair. I will work tirelessly and speak into every ear that I can in my capacity as Mayor to combat this scourge and I will not stop until we begin to see results from all these actions.

Plainfield, I cannot do it alone. I need your support as a community, as people who know what it is to suffer loss to this scourge. Use your vote to support legislators who have shown the will and desire to support meaningful change and much needed gun reform measures. Be watchful, and report strange and unusual behavior around your neighborhoods.  

If you see something, say something.  

We may not be able to prevent every violent act that occurs, but if we can prevent even one, it is another step toward eliminating the problem. 

 Creating One Plainfield - One Future,

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp

City of Plainfield