On what one onlooker called “the perfect day for baseball,” the clanging of metal bats rang out throughout Rosa L. Burney Park in the heart of Mechanicsville.
Dozens of young Atlantans ducked in and out of a brand new batting cage and dashed across squeaky clean bases as a crowd cheered on sets of metal bleachers. But the game between the FCA and King Middle School teams was anything but ordinary.
A year prior, the community in southwest Atlanta was shaken by a fatal shooting during Softball Sunday, a neighborhood softball tournament at the park. Two were killed and four were injured. Among the victims was a 6-year-old girl when gunfire erupted after an argument during the ballgame.
Terence Denson, a community leader who rushed the injured girl to the hospital, was also killed in a shooting just a few weeks later, said Council member Jason Dozier, who represents the area.
“Our community had been reeling with all the gun violence and loss of life at an event that was supposed to be celebratory that turned into tragedy,” he said.
But on Thursday, Dozier gathered with the community to ring in a fresh start for the park with the help of the Atlanta Braves, Truist and the city Department of Parks and Recreation. The field was outfitted with a new batting cage, bases, scoreboard, dugout benches and new equipment for the Dunbar Recreation Center as the first ever location to receive a revamp through the Braves Park Project.
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Dozier said now it’s the city’s turn to step up to the plate for the community that often feels neglected by officials.
“This is a great start, but there has to be more work done to continue this momentum and to make sure that we invest in this park and this community in a way that we should have been investing in for a long time,” he said.
Community leaders, too, hope the project will lead to more development in the area of Atlanta that they feel is often “lost in the city.”
“This is something we’ve been fighting for,” said David Holder, president of the Mechanicsville Civic Association. “We’re going to continue to fight for more things that we need in the community.”
“Things like this bring out people to say: ‘Hey, Mechanicsville has great things, too,’” he said.
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
Credit: Riley Bunch/riley.bunch@ajc.com
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