Pawtucket Coalition: Woodlawn Community Declares Victory with Dramatic Cleanup of Morley Field – Continues to Demand Reopening of Pawtucket Park/Greenspace
Statement from:
Clovis Gregor (Representative Counselor District 5, Pawtucket, Woodlawn/Oak Hill)
Cherie Cruz (Rhode Island State Representative District 58)
Jennifer Stewart (Rhode Island State Representative District 59)
Harrison Tuttle (Community Leader)
In a significant victory for the Woodlawn community, Morley Field has undergone a comprehensive cleanup, addressing over three years of neglect of the only large greenspace in the working class neighborhood.
Since 2022, Woodlawn residents and supporters of Morley Field have held rallies, made calls to City officials, organized cleanups of the park, spoken out at Pawtucket City Council Meetings, and most recently spoken at meetings of the Pawtucket Planning Commission. They have consistently demanded their park be restored and reopened.
Their persistent advocacy is paying off. The field has been mowed and cleared of weeds, debris, and garbage. Advocates thank Public Works Director Chris Crawley and new Parks & Recreation Director Luke McLaughlin for responding to repeated requests from City Councilor Clovis Gregor and community members to have Morley Field properly cleaned up in compliance with the City’s stewardship responsibilities and municipal and federal guidelines.
Councilor Gregor states, “This is the first step to restoring a vital public recreational space and it challenges the narrative that the field has outlived its usefulness. The neglect of Morley Field was a strategic choice, and hopefully the cleanup signals a new approach, and that our field will finally be reopened.”
Morley Field was closed in early 2022 when the City claimed it was contaminated based on soil tests commissioned by New York based J.K. Equities, which seeks to pave the park as part of its plan for a trucking depot. However, subsequent independent tests revealed no more contaminants there than at any other park in the city.
At the Aug. 6 City Council meeting, Jerry Karlik, principal with J.K. Equities asserted that the “urban speculative industrial development” project at Moshassuck Street is a standalone effort without a connection to the adjoining Morley Field. Confusingly and in contradiction to those remarks, the City’s application to the National Park Service and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management seeking permission to convert the park to a parking lot remains open.
Advocates for Morley Field have released the following statement:
“While we celebrate the recent work done by Pawtucket Parks & Recreation and Public Works to clean up Morley Field, we continue to urge Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien to permanently reopen our park as it was originally intended. Unlock the gates, commit to ongoing maintenance, and let local organizations reserve the field for athletic events for our young people. It’s time to reopen Morley Field.”
