You may have noticed that this week’s Indy cover story takes place in Durham Central Park. Here’s what we we want you to know.
Durham Central Park is a 5 acre public park in downtown Durham. The land is owned by the City of Durham. Durham Central Park, Inc, a 501c3 non-profit organization, holds a management agreement to develop, manage and program the park.
Since the park was established in 2001, it has become an active, public community gathering space. For over a decade now, the park has been the backdrop for concerts, movies, celebrations, food truck rodeos, the Durham Farmers’ Market and many cultural events that have helped to make downtown Durham a lively, vibrant place to be.
DCP, Inc.’s mission is Providing Space for Community. That means a number of things, including continuing to maintain and improve an already amazing urban park, working hard to ensure that the park is accessible to everyone, hosting enjoyable free events to enliven the park and enrich the community, and safeguarding a place for people to gather every day of the week. We strive for Durham Central Park to be a vibrant, urban park where everyone feels welcome.
As the neighborhood around us changes and new residents move in, we hope that they have chosen to be our neighbors because they value the activity and culture of the park that has been cultivated by the wide diversity of park users. However, we realize that there may be some friction with new residents and long established activities. We are dedicated to working with all parties when there is an issue and want to find win-win solutions.
We understand that the Durham Police Department is tasked with enforcing the laws and policies that are set by the City of Durham. We expect that DPD will apply enforcement with consistency and respect. Since downtown Durham is undergoing rapid change and becoming a mixed use area, this may be a good time for the city government officials to revisit the noise ordinance to ensure that the ordinance is clear and fairly written so that the culture and fabric of what has made downtown Durham so appealing is not irreparably altered.
-Durham Central Park, Inc.