15 May ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO DEDICATES “HOUSTON STEVENS LITTLE LEAGUE FIELD” IN ESSEX COUNTY IVY HILL PARK IN HONOR OF COMMUNITY LEADER AND NEWARK RESIDENT HOUSTON STEVENS County Executive Also Announces Modernization of Little League Field and Construction of Football/Soccer Field are Complete
Published on May 15, 2023
Newark, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. dedicated the “Houston Stevens Little League Field” in Essex County Ivy Hill Park in Newark in honor of community leader and Newark resident Houston Stevens. DiVincenzo said naming the field in Stevens’ honor is recognition for his longtime leadership of the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association, his partnership with Essex County to revitalize Ivy Hill Park and for creating youth recreation programs and community activities in the park.
DiVincenzo also announced that a $3.6 million project to update the recreation facilities in Essex County Ivy Hill Park was completed. This includes installing a new synthetic grass surface playing surface on the little league field, creating a formal football/soccer field with a synthetic grass playing surface and resurfacing the two basketball courts. It is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to provide the most up-to-date recreation facilities that meet the needs of the community.
“Congratulations to Houston Stevens! Houston and the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association have been partnering with Essex County to continually improve Essex County Ivy Hill Park for over two decades. Our relationship has benefitted our residents because as we updated facilities, Houston organized programs and activities and helped build community spirit and pride,” DiVincenzo said. “Houston’s legacy always has been about enhancing quality of life, strengthening the bonds in the neighborhood and providing for children. Naming the field in his honor will remind future generations of Houston’s many contributions,” he added.
“I am overwhelmed by the praise being heaped upon me today,” Stevens said. “While my name may be up there on that scoreboard, and I am very grateful for this honor, it’s not about me. It’s about all of us because I didn’t do any of this by myself,” he added.
“I am not surprised by this honor. Houston is a great man inside and out and truly cares about his community,” NJ State Senator Renee Burgess said.
“Houston is an example of someone who makes things happen for the community. Having his name on this field means something. It tells you about his character and type of person he is,” Newark West Ward Councilman Dupree Kelly said.
“Today could not have happened to a nicer individual,” Sheriff Armando said when recognizing Mr. Stevens. “Joe makes sure we have jewels in our communities for children to grow, develop and enjoy,” he added about the facility improvements.
A plaque placed at the field begins with a quote by Coretta Scott King: “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” It continues: “A life-long labor and community activist, Houston Stevens joined the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association in 1994 to help improve and strengthen the community in which he lived. Under the leadership of Mr. Stevens, the grassroots organization formed partnerships with Ivy Hill and Mt. Vernon Elementary Schools and Seton Hall University to create a variety of academic enrichment, mentoring and employment programs to benefit youth, and with the City of Newark to combat and reduce incidents of crime. In addition, the IHNA obtained over $3 million in grant funding to help Essex County modernize athletic fields, update recreation facilities and revitalize Essex County Ivy Hill Park. Mr. Stevens also was instrumental in bringing youth baseball, soccer and basketball programs to Ivy Hill Park and helped create and organize the long-running Ivy Hill International Food and Music Festival to highlight the cultural and ethnic diversity of the community. Naming the Little League Field in honor of Mr. Stevens is a fitting tribute to someone who has dedicated his public life to helping our youth and empowering the Ivy Hill community.”
“Today represents a great investment in our community and our youth,” said Douglas Bell, President of the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association, who presented the County Executive with a plaque recognizing the investments he has championed in Essex County Ivy Hill Park.
“The impact that Houston has had on the community is everlasting. I thank him for his vision,” said Thomas Ellis, who runs the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association’s baseball program.
“We greatly appreciate the new football field because now we don’t have share the space with another sport. I thank Joe DiVincenzo for the beautiful field for our children,” said Melvin Dwyer, who runs the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association’s football program.
“Three years ago, Houston asked me to create a soccer program for children and he told me not worry, that a soccer field would be built in the park. Today that dream is coming true,” said Hugo Pierre, who runs the Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association’s soccer program.
A new addition to the park is the football/soccer field with a synthetic grass playing surface. It also has LED sports lighting for evening games and practices. The baseball field was updated with a new synthetic grass surface and existing sports lighting was replaced with LED lighting that is brighter and more efficient. Two existing basketball courts were resurfaced. New walkways were constructed from the existing walking paths to the fields, pathways were repaired, new trees were planted and landscaping throughout the park was enhanced.
French and Parrello from Wall was awarded a professional services contract for $264,000 to design the field improvements. Athletic Fields of America from Montville was awarded a publicly bid contract for $3,361,834 to perform the construction work. The Essex County Department of Public Works monitored he project to ensure delays were avoided. Funding was provided through the American Recovery Program and the Essex County Recreation and Open Space Trust Fund. Work started in October 2022 and took just seven months to complete.
Revitalizing Essex County Ivy Hill Park
The playground was updated with new playground equipment and a rubberized safety surface in 2017. Essex County partnered with Seton Hall University to upgrade the Mike Sheppard, Sr. Softball Field and four tennis courts in 2015. An 18-station fitness course, 53 ornamental light poles and a 300-foot-long paved pathway in the western section of the park were completed in 2014. A second synthetic surface baseball/softball field was installed, two restroom buildings were renovated, and pathways and landscaping were enhanced in 2010. The garden recognizing the four students who were attacked in the Mount Vernon Elementary School playground was dedicated on April 7, 2008. A triangular stone wall – the three sides of the wall symbolizing Terrance Aeriel, Dashon Harvey and Iofemi Hightower who were killed – makes up the center of the garden. On the three outer sides of the garden, trees are planted in groups of three, again to symbolize the three students who lost their lives. A fourth stone wall that is part of the garden is meant to honor the bravery and heroism of Natasha Aeriel, who was seriously wounded during the August 4, 2007 attack. While recovering in the hospital, Natasha Aeriel worked with police to identify the suspects.
The three baseball/softball fields received an extensive overhaul in 2005. One of the fields received a synthetic grass surface, press box, scoreboard and dugout, while the other two fields received new sports fencing. A subsurface drainage system for the entire complex was installed to alleviate flooding. In addition, one existing basketball court near Mount Vernon Place has been replaced with two new basketball courts that are equipped with new lights and players’ benches.
The Essex County Park System was created in 1895 and is the first county park system established in the United States. The Park System consists of more than 6,000 acres and has 23 parks, five reservations, an environmental center, a zoo, Treetop Adventure Course, ice skating rink, roller skating rink, three public golf courses, golf driving range, two miniature golf courses, five off-leash dog facilities, a castle and the Presby Memorial Iris Gardens. Essex County purchased land for Ivy Hill Park in 1927. At 18.96 acres, the park is the seventh smallest in the Essex County Park System.