Hyslop contends racial issues lie behind plan to sell Riverside Park

New London - City Councilor Wade Hyslop believes race and a disregard for the poor may be at the root of a possible sale of Riverside Park to the Coast Guard Academy.

"I want the councilors to know some people really think in terms that minorities don't count,'' Hyslop said Wednesday following a contentious council meeting Tuesday night that devolved into accusations of deceit and back-room bargaining. He charged that racism is a motivating factor to sell the park, located off Crystal Avenue.

"I believe it has to do with ethnicity,'' said Hyslop, who has charged that some city officials are disregarding the city's poorest residents as they forge ahead with talks with the Coast Guard, which wants to buy 10 acres of the 18-acre waterfront park.

The park is located near three low-income housing projects, including the federally subsidized Thames River high-rises. It is also the only city park located north of the twin spans of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge.

But those councilors who have agreed to talk with the Coast Guard Academy say Hyslop is mistaken.

"I totally disagree,'' said Deputy Mayor Adam Sprecace. "I don't understand where those comments are coming from other than the fact that the park is located in a lower-income area of the city. I don't know what that has to do with race."

Had the park and the Coast Guard been located in the south end of the city, Sprecace said, the same discussion would be taking place.

From the beginning of the process, which began earlier this year, Sprecace has said he has been open to reviewing a proposal by the Coast Guard but has not decided if selling is the right option.

"If he (Hyslop) believes it, I think he should put some evidence forward and support it,'' Sprecace said.

Hyslop, who grew up near Riverside Park and "went to many a picnic there," said at the council meeting he believes "a plan was made years ago because people of a certain ethnic background used that park." The plan was to chase out users of the park; it was neglected and allowed to fall into disrepair so it would eventually be sold, he said.

"I am, and have always been, a minority,'' Hyslop said Wednesday. "Until you sit where I sit, if you've never been discriminated against, you don't know how I feel."

Councilor Michael Passero, who is opposed to selling the park, said race has been "the elephant in the room'' during the discussions with the Coast Guard.

"No one's brought it up publicly, except for one speaker who has alluded to it,'' he said. "But that opinion has been expressed by a lot of people. I wasn't surprised by it."

Passero added that he has no idea whether there is any merit to Hyslop's allegations. "I don't have enough background to comment on it,'' he said. "I would defer to Wade Hyslop's opinion on that. I've been very aware that that's been an issue here. ... I felt he was speaking from his heart, and I respect his comments."

Kathleen Mitchell, a vocal opponent of any sale of the park, has passionately voiced her concern over the past few months and has been saying a discussion would not be taking place if the park was located in the tonier south end of the city.

"If this park, meaning Riverside, was on the right side of the tracks, where most of the little kids playing there are little blonde children, instead of on the wrong side of the tracks, where the majority of children playing there are little nappy-haired black kids, you can bet your bottom dollar those four city councilors and the Coast Guard Academy wouldn't even consider touching it,'' Mitchell said in an e-mail Wednesday.

Hyslop, who's in his 60s and is the only councilor of color, says it's hard to shake memories of being chased out of Riverside Park as a youth. He said if a group of friends was hanging out after a basketball game, police would cruise through and tell them to move on. If there was a group of white kids with them, the police kept going, he said.

The city made a half-hearted effort at the beginning of the summer to make improvements to the park, Hyslop said. Some brush was cut back and two grills and four picnic tables were placed in one area.

Hyslop also questioned a proposal to replace land lost by a sale of Riverside with a new park closer to the Thames River high-rises. He said that property, between the apartments and the Olde Towne Mill, is not adequate for a park because it floods during heavy rains and contains a small body of water where a child once drowned.

"We should be preserving the parkland that the city has. We shouldn't be engaged in selling,'' he said.

Councilor Michael Buscetto III, who sparred with Hyslop, his fellow Democrat, over race issues during the last election, said he is disappointed that Hyslop believes race is the motivating factor in the Riverside discussion.

"I don't agree with that. I don't believe ethnicity has anything to do with Riverside Park,'' Buscetto said. "Race will have no bearing on the vote on Riverside."

Mayor Rob Pero called Hyslop's comments "nonsense." He said Hyslop, who has been on the council for three years and was a state legislator for 14 years, had opportunities to improve conditions at the park, but never did.

"That kind of discussion is not helpful,'' he said. "I don't know why all of a sudden it's an issue."

Any proposed sale of the park requires approval of the council, after which it would go to the voters in a special referendum.

k.edgecomb@theday.com