A group of mostly older women in matching black and red uniforms practice choreographed dances most Saturday mornings in Cleveland’s AsiaTown on the city's near East Side.
They call themselves the Cleveland AsiaTown Square Dancing Group, and they practice in what used to be a bustling parking lot of the Dave’s Markets grocery store that closed five years ago — but they say they’d prefer a park.
There isn’t much green space in AsiaTown, a roughly 10-block neighborhood between Payne and Perkins avenues where residences are interspersed between warehouses and parking lots, so the dancers take advantage of the empty space, which has been vacant since Dave’s Markets closed its Payne Avenue location in 2019.
“We understand this is the meat of the city. It’s hard to have a huge lake — huge green forest,” said Feng Laughlin, who lives in Shaker Heights, but is a leader of the dance group, whose members primarily live in AsiaTown.
“Plants and grass,” Laughlin said, “a small spot would change the whole city.”
There are health benefits to increased access to parks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said access to green space encourages physical activity, which can also reduce stress and benefit mental health. The CDC also said parks provide environmental benefits such as reducing air and water pollution.
Bringing a park to AsiaTown would mean a lot to Feiran Yang, a community organizer for MidTown Cleveland Inc., the neighborhood’s community development corporation.
“I think having a green space is also important for our residents to having their own grassroots leadership and can make our community more close to each other,” Yang said.
The city started surveying Clevelanders last year to create a 15-year parks and recreation plan to equitably address the need for green space.
“I feel for them. Honestly, everyone should have a quality park within walking distance,” said Jay Rauschenbach, the city’s parks and recreation planning manager.
There are several other Cleveland neighborhoods who want the same thing as AsiaTown, including Clark-Fulton on the West Side, Rauschenbach said. He said the city has started implementing improvements.
“Unless... the budget goes to zero and we don't have anything to do, any money to do any projects, there will be something happening every single year,” Rauschenbach said. “We have three parks under construction right now for renovations. We’re about to start two more full renovations of parks. We’re continuously doing recreation center improvements as well."
The closest park to the Dave’s Markets parking lot on Payne, which is in the middle of AsiaTown, is at the Sterling Recreation Center about a half mile away. The Sterling Recreation Center is currently under construction, but there is a playground, a baseball diamond and some trees in the outdoor areas.
For some in AsiaTown, however, the trip to Sterling is a barrier — especially for those without cars.
Rauschenbach said the survey showed Clevelanders across the city yearn for trails and swimming pools, but most importantly, for safety — a sentiment shared by member of the AsiaTown dance group.
Yang said the dancers have been victims of theft and harassment while utilizing the parking lot.
“They want to have some activity and some events to keep their physical and mental healthy,” Yang said. “But all those activities need space, a safety space.”
Getting a new permanent green space requires resources — money, land availability, maintenance — that Ward 7 Councilmember Stephanie Howse-Jones said the ward and the city lack.
“I hear you loud and clear and am working to the best of my ability to one day make that a reality,” Howse-Jones said.
Yang and Howse-Jones both said they feel good about working together to bring a park to the neighborhood. Still, Howse-Jones said there are other items that she must prioritize, such as access to affordable housing.
The dancers and Feng Laughlin said they appreciate that there is a process. But they’re also frustrated and said communities where the majority of residents are people of color like theirs have been historically ignored.
“Yes, it’s unfair, and we want our voices louder,” Laughlin said.
The current plan will focus on ensuring "just and fair" capital investment in parks and recreation, according to the city. Rauschenbach said the parks and rec surveys have been made available in a number of languages spoken in Cleveland.
So far, results show the demographic makeup of survey respondents closely resembles the racial makeup of the city.
In the meantime, AsiaTown residents are making the most of what they have.
Two years ago, MidTown created a pop-up park in the former Dave’s Markets parking lot — putting in planters, benches and as much shade as possible. There’s even a dim-sum-inspired mural covering a shipping container that was turned into a mini library.
MidTown hosts regular holiday and community events at the pop-up park.
“The main problem is this pop-up park is not owned by us, and it’s not a public asset,” Yang said. “We’re still having a lot of fun with this space.”
