ARTICLE: My Proudest Accomplishment: Hartman Park
By Jen Blumenstock | Published in The Union County Hawk, August 25, 2022
Having been on Council for six years, there have been many projects and initiatives that I am proud to have accomplished. However, there is one in particular that I hold up as perhaps the most rewarding - the renovation of Hartman Park.
One of my top priorities when elected to Garwood’s Council in 2016 was to rehabilitate this park, one of two main playground areas here in town. The park had not seen an update in at least 30 years. The playground consisted of mostly broken, rusted-out equipment, the basketball courts were cracked and prone to flooding and it provided little seating and shade. In simple terms, not very family-friendly.
Though I had young children of my own, I knew beautiful parks not only benefit families, but also help increase home values and provide the neighborly feel we know and love in Garwood. Children through seniors would enjoy the benefits if we could find a way to rehabilitate Hartman. I made it my mission to find that way, while also keeping the cost as low as possible. A brand-new park is wonderful, but the taxpayers’ wallets are always at the forefront of my mind, so I knew grants were the way to go.
Through various County grants, we would pay for more than half of the project, with the added bonus of providing equipment accessible to children with special needs. I was a part of this project from beginning to end, from design meetings with the engineer and builder, to checking in with the construction crews on site in the early hours of the morning once building began. I’ve always been a hands-on Council member, and this project would certainly be no different for me. In fact, given how important I thought this was to the community, I wanted to be a part of every detail, from the shading, to the bench placement to the types of swings.
Watching toddlers on the double swing with their parents, or seeing older children climbing the steps to slide, I know I made the right decision when pursuing and overseeing this project. The revitalization of Hartman Park is something that I’ll always look to as a meaningful part of my tenure as Councilwoman. In running for Mayor, I want to continue to be part of our town in the same hands-on manner. As your full-time Mayor, I pledge to give the same devotion to all future Garwood projects that come along as I did with Hartman Park. I hope that you’ll continue to support these efforts by voting for me on November 8th.
Jen Blumenstock
Garwood Borough Council President
Candidate for Garwood Mayor