'Renaissance' on the Way for Oakland's Great Oak Park

Work on a new 40-acre park for Oakland plus walking trails in the area of the former Pleasureland and Mueller's Park should be getting started in the near future, The Record reported. 

Mike Guadagnino, who chairs the Oakland Recreation Commission and the Oakland Park Commission, said the project—which may also include a skate park—will represent a renaissance for Great Oak Park, the article said. The area, which once housed recreational venues, largely shut down in 1985 due to a gang-related shooting that summer that left two dead and 10 wounded.

A committee appointed last year by Oakland Borough is working with a nonprofit to raise funds for the park redevelopment effort. Working with the borough engineer, the committee is putting together a project plan that must be approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection. That plan could win an okay for potential future improvements such as a skate park, great lawn, dog park and band shell, the article said.