Kennedy Park (Portland, Maine)
Kennedy Park is a neighborhood in East Bayside in downtown Portland, Maine, built around a park, athletic fields, basketball courts, a playground and the Boyd Street Urban Garden.
Demographics
The neighborhood is part of Census Tract 5, the most diverse neighborhood in the state of Maine. While the White population of Maine was 97% according to the 2000 census, the White population in Census Tract 5 was only 71%.[1] According to the 2010 census, Census Tract 5 is the most diverse section of Portland, Maine. It is 60% White, 21% Black, 6% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 1% Native American, and 4% Multiracial.[2]
History
Kennedy Park was built in 1964–1965 as a
The park is named after President of the United States, John F. Kennedy.[4] There are 160 rental units. During its first few decades, the neighborhood was known for crime and drugs. However, in recent years, the police have reported significantly less crime in the area.[1] From the 1980s onward, the neighborhood's demographic began changing; common ethnicities in 2001 were "Thai, Korean, Cambodian, Japanese, American, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Eritrean, Ethiopian etc..."[1]
By the 2010s, the industrial properties in the neighborhood began to be converted into breweries, coffee roasting facilities, restaurants and art galleries. New condos have been built. The noise from live music and events has caused noise complaints from neighbors.[5] On the 4th of July in 2021 and 2022, police officers were attacked by fireworks in the neighborhood while responding to calls involving gun shots and shootings. The police said the majority of people at the scene were not neighborhood residents. The 2022 incident occurred in the vicinity of an intersection of neighborhood streets that were rendered dead ends from the slum clearance and redevelopment circa 1950s-1960s.[6]
Location
Situated in the
See also
- History of the Somalis in Maine
References
- ^ a b c Neighborhood is Maine's most diverse Archived 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine in the Portland Press Herald, 3 April 2001
- ^ "Mapping America: Every City, Every Block". The New York Times. 13 December 2010.
- ^ "Greater Portland Landmarks' Urban Renewal Roots". Greater Portland Landmarks. 13 May 2020. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
- ^ "An Overview of PortHousing Authority History". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Randy BillingsStaff Writer (2021-09-25). "Portland may turn down the volume in Bayside amid increasing noise complaints". Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
- ^ Writer, Gillian GrahamStaff (2022-07-05). "In chaotic July 4th scene, a Portland man is shot and a crowd aims fireworks at police who respond". Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
43°39′54.1″N 70°15′23.0″W / 43.665028°N 70.256389°W