Skid Row Community Volunteer Coach Ron at Gladys Park

Gladys_Park_Pic.pngPhoto by Kavior Moon on Flickr              

Gladys Park is a City of LA park that sits at the corner of 6th St. and Gladys Ave in the Skid Row neighborhood of downtown.

In 2008, it was revitalized with the help of a community-activist named General Jeff, and a “Nike Basketball Court” was added. Since then, it has increasingly become a vibrant place where local arts festivals, musical concerts, meal sharing programs, blanket giveaways and of course basket ball games are held. 

Gladys_Park_BBall_Game.png                                                                                                                        Photo by Ed Fuentes on Flickr              

Recently, Industrial District Green, partnering with the Korean Youth & Community Center (KYCC), planted a tree on Gladys Ave in front of this park. A local photographer named Tony Anthony just happened to snap a few shots of the tree being planted. Tony is one half of the project, ‘Skid Row Folk”.

Gladys_Park_Tree_PLanting.jpg                                                                                                                         Photo by Tony Anthony

Members of the neighborhood are also stewards of the park. Ron Crockett, or “Coach”, as everyone calls him, has recently begun organizing volunteers to care for trees at Gladys Park on Saturday mornings between 10-11:30am. Him and his volunteers clean out the tree wells and water the trees to help provide a healthy park and community asset.

Gladys_Park_Volunteers.jpg                                                                                                                          Photo by Ron Crockett

Coach is passionate about holding responsibility for nurturing Gladys Park, as he believes that the park provides a sense of pride, community, and nature for Skid Row. See what he has to say in the video below!