Wednesday, Aug. 11, 1999 | 11:38 a.m.
Anna Rodriguez took her two children outdoors for some fresh air Monday morning, but pushed her daughter's stroller and her young son's gait away from Ethel Pearson Park and its playground equipment.
"No Hector," she said, leading him away from a group of men standing in the park's shaded area, sipping from bottles wrapped in paper bags.
Rodriguez, 24, said she stays away from the park at Washington Avenue and D Street because she doesn't want her children mixing with what she calls a "bad element."
"I don't want them near people drinking," she said.
The city of Las Vegas doesn't either.
But a City Council resolution to designate Pearson, James Gay and Fitzgerald Tot Lot parks in West Las Vegas as "children's parks" and thus restrict access to adults without children has drawn criticism from civil libertarians and homeless advocates.
"These parks were not built specifically for children," said Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Nevada. "They are general-purpose parks. They are paid for by the public and should be accessible to the public."
The resolution was approved unanimously by the council on July 12.
Councilman Gary Reese, whose ward includes the three parks, stands by his decision.
"Look, we are trying everything to get parks in this city, and if we have parks that aren't being used, that just adds to the problem," Reese said. "The residents have asked us for this, and I've received a lot of complaints about the parks."
At the time of the vote, Mayor Oscar Goodman expressed some concern about limiting access, saying "parks are for everyone." But he agreed to the resolution after city staff said that "neighbors aren't using the parks because they are afraid."
Morse Arberry, deputy director of the city's Neighborhood Services Department, said the city has not yet begun enforcing the measure because it wants to "do a soft shoe to make residents understand" the intent of the law.
"We want people to know they can use their parks, but these parks need to be protected," Arberry, who is also a state assemblyman, said.
A survey of 175 area residents found that drug activity "and the amount of homeless individuals living in the parks" keep children away, Arberry said.
A majority of those surveyed wanted park access for children and their guardians only, he said.
"While I appreciate the very real problems that city officials are in this and other cases seeking to address, I am frankly weary of what seems to be a willingness to play fast and loose with the Constitution when seeking effective solutions," Peck said.
Peck also said he found it troubling that the three parks are all in the region with the most poverty, minorities and homeless.
"It's perfectly reasonable to have a cordoned-off area with sandboxes or play areas, but that isn't what's happening here," ACLU lawyer Allen Lichtenstein said. "This is just another way to discriminate against black teenagers who want to use the park and old men who want to play checkers."
Arberry said seniors who use the parks to play checkers and chess have been bused to Doolittle Senior Center to play those games inside.
David Bure, advocacy chairman for the Homeless Coalition, said he believes the resolution targets the homeless, who are forced from place to place because of a lack of city services.
"It seems to be clear that it's specifically targeting the homeless," he said.
A lack of shelter services during the summer, coupled with unwritten past policies, have forced the homeless from one park to another, he said.
For years Catholic volunteers served coffee to the homeless in Pearson Park, he said.
In fact, when volunteers began serving coffee to homeless men in the park on Maryland Parkway, neighbors complained, and the volunteers were told to limit such activities to Pearson Park, he added.
"Unless we have an alternative place to go, it's really an oppressive law," Bure said. "If there is this unwritten rule that Las Vegas wants to have a specific homeless corridor, then you have to provide services."
Neither Bure nor Peck condoned the illegal use of drugs or alcohol in the city's parks.
But Peck said the city should do a better job enforcing public drunkenness, drug trafficking and criminal codes.
"It is one thing to punish people for what they do, it is quite another to punish them for who they are," Peck said.
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