Opinion: Broken promises on green space in Huntington Park

In many low-income communities, access to green space and safe recreational areas is severely limited. Parks, athletic facilities and outdoor gathering spaces are not luxuries but rather they are essential public health resources. Huntington Park is a clear example of a community with an acute  lack of green spaces. 

Located in the heart of Southeast Los Angeles, Huntington Park is one of the most densely populated cities in the region, yet it lacks sufficient open space for youth and families to engage in physical activity, build community and simply breathe outside of overcrowded housing conditions. As someone who grew up in this neighborhood, I remember how much of a community the city’s biggest park, Salt Lake Park, helped foster. Playing baseball together with my peers, learning ballet, having cheer performances, the older residents sitting and watching us as we grew up was a rare moment of relief from the pressures of city life. These spaces, small as they may be, provided us residents with a connection to nature and with the community. 

Recreational spaces provide structured activities that reduce risk factors associated with gang involvement, school disengagement, and mental health stress. They create environments where young people can develop teamwork, discipline, and resilience, and they foster a sense of belonging in communities that often feel overlooked and underfunded.

In 2019, the city announced an ambitious plan to address this gap by proposing the Huntington Park Aquatic Center. Initially estimated to cost $24 million, the project aimed to transform Salt Lake Park into a state-of-the-art facility featuring an Olympic-size swimming pool, a gymnasium, conference rooms and a football field. For a city with limited green space, this project represented more than construction; it symbolized an investment in public health, youth development and long-term community well-being. 

The promise of the aquatic center was a promise of equity, a step toward correcting the historic disinvestment that communities like Huntington Park have long experienced. However, that promise never came into fruition. The council members who had promised these facilities became involved in what came to be called the “Dirty Pond Operation,” after $14 million allocated for the park’s renovation went unaccounted for. Then-Mayor Karina Macias, Councilmember Eddie Martinez, and City Manager Ricardo Reyes were investigated and had search warrants issued for each of their homes, yet the investigation never produced answers. 

Today, Macias remains on the city council, and former councilmember Martinez has since become the city mayor. The community is left with lingering questions: What happened to the funds intended for the youth? Why were the promises broken? And when, if ever, will Huntington Park’s residents see the investment they were promised?

For residents, the absence of these resources reinforces a sense of neglect, inequity and a deepening frustration toward local governance. Change is possible, but it requires transparency, accountability and active community involvement. The city should conduct a full public audit of the missing funds and release the findings to residents. A committee should be established to monitor future projects and prevent mismanagement. Green space development should be prioritized, even in small parcels, to create playgrounds, pocket parks and recreational programs that meet the real needs of youth and families. 

Huntington Park’s residents are not asking for handouts, they are asking for what every community deserves: safe, accessible spaces to grow, play and thrive. The aquatic center may have been delayed or derailed, but the need for investment in public health and youth development has only grown. It is time for the city to honor its promises, put community needs first and ensure that future generations of residents have the spaces they deserve so that they can flourish.