Rev. Jason Greer, center front, in tan suit, addresses City Council
A large number of parents, some with their children, turned out in support of Rev. Jason Greer, who called the 2014 youth baseball season "a catastrophe" and questioned the leadership of Recreation Superintendent Veronica Taylor.When he took office in January, Mayor Adrian O. Mapp had announced resolution of the acrimony between a volunteer-led league and a city league. There would be one unified league in 2014, he said. Greer said Monday all the registration money went to Karen Glencamp-Daniel, head of the Queen City Baseball League. Resident Faye Clark gave the council members a 150-page report on the finances to bolster Greer's assertion.
Greer also said Seidler Field "has always been our football field," apparently referring to a proposal to create a soccer field there. Speakers at the Aug. 18 council meeting perceived the expansion of soccer as catering to Latinos at the expense of sports favored by African-Americans.
Greer claimed Monday the administration was "cutting back programs," which he said would lead to an increase in crime.
"We really need some answers," Greer said. "If Veronica Taylor is not willing to work with all youth, she needs to be removed."
Greer voiced other complaints before raising his voice and saying, "I need to know where our money went. If this problem is not corrected, we will fill this house and turn it inside out."
Mapp said at the beginning of the year one league was formed and for the transition monies were still going to Queen City "to complete the merger."
The Plainfield Recreation Division did not run the baseball program this year, he said.
As Mapp and Greer traded views, Councilwoman Gloria Taylor opined that there were some disagreements and the groups did not really merge.
"It's a takeover, that's what I am hearing," Taylor said.
Councilwoman Rebecca Williams said she is on the Recreation Committee and the council had only heard from one group. Since Greer's allotted 10 minutes had grown to 29, she asked for five minutes for Glencamp-Daniel to speak. But as the topic shifted from baseball to football, Council President Bridget Rivers said, "We are not having that discussion."
Banging her gavel, she ordered a police officer to remove Glencamp-Daniel from the courtroom.
Greer got the last word, saying he did not want Seidler Field to be converted to a soccer/football field.
--Bernice
Mapp is not African American so his loyalty is to the Queen and I don't mean Queen City . So his idea of a football field is a soccer field. Fight on Greer we got your back .
ReplyDeleteLet me see if I understand this line of thought -
DeleteAfrican-American is to black as
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant is to white
So just like the WASPs tried to shut out and hold down the Italians, Jews, Irish, Slavs, etc, who immigrated here after the original English settlers it's OK to shut out and hold down those who immigrate here now from other centers of slavery as instead of migrating here in the last century from the slave-owning Southern states?
Am I getting that right?
Exactly!!!!!! I agree with 5:02 am. Mapp is too much. He is a one term mayor. So him and his administration should not get comfortable.
DeleteMisinformation is being spread among parents and children. It is shameful because some of it is deliberate. Rev. Greer consistently rises and speaks without a factual basis--football is not being cut. Basketball is not being cut. Seidler Field--which belongs to EVERYONE in the city--is being turned into a multipurpose field and will be striped for football and soccer. The underlying racial attitudes of some of the speakers comes out quite clearly in their speech--that is shameful and sets a horrible example for the children who were brought to the meeting. Rumors have been spread about the "merging" of football, about basketball being cut, etc. Regarding football, there are three youth teams and one adult team--none are run by the city. This is not difficult to find out--rather than spreading rumors, why not find out the truth BEFORE you speak?
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that the Recreation Division (I sit on the council's recreation committee, along with Council President Rivers) is expanding programs and upgrading the recreational facilities (the council has resolutions on the agenda next week to upgrade the bathrooms to make them ADA-compliant, among other things) for the use of ALL residents in Plainfield.
Instead of grandstanding and consistently repeating rumor and innuendo, what would make more sense would be to actually speak to the Director of Public Works and to the Recreation Superintendent about the new additions to the programs. Working through the muck and mire of the years of mismanagement in Recreation under the previous administration has been quite difficult, I can attest--many read my posts in 2012 in which I detailed the issues surrounding a lot of that past mismanagement, the lack of records, and the fake vendor contract that was being used to try to steal money from vendors. Remember, recreation is for everyone--of all ages. Those who fuel rumors and come to the microphone to spread them week after week need to be corrected in their wrongful statements. Regarding the ethnic bias--they should be ashamed.
Rebecca
Rebecca your ridiculous! !!!!! I hope your never voted back in council. It's a shame that you can not be neutral. As an elected official I'm very concerned. You sat up there slouched in your seat as if you didn't care. I know Mapplethorpe is your homeboy and Ronnie is your home girl but come on. Look I can't with yall because who let Eric a Watson back. Do you care? Let me guess you don't care.
DeleteBeware: If something makes perfect sense and people "think" it's a bad idea, there is a snake in the weeds. The facility upgrades are a fantastic idea. Kudos to Roni and the administration for finally taking our City's recreation needs seriously. All of our neighboring towns have multipurpose turf fields that are lined for football, baseball, soccer and lacrosse. The folks trying to create dissention where there is none are vile, racist, and disgusting.
ReplyDeleteWhether people like it or not, we have many cultures in Plainfield and many kinds of sport. Race baiting and hate mongering is not the way to go. Shame on those who will use these things and outright lies to try to get their way. We need to sort out fact from lies and let God sort out those who want to use those lies.
DeleteNo kudos there. Their are enough soccer fields in Plainfield.
DeleteThis is just so sad.. Who is this Reverend???? Did he have a child playing baseball this past season? Or is he basing everything off of what someone told him?
ReplyDeleteThe ignorance of some of the adults is just mind blowing! We will never move forward because we always have ignorance pulling us back!
Some of you need to get a life and stop manufacturing "issues"!
You sound upset. What does it matter. Karen stole the money and took it. What happens to the Banquet
DeleteAgain, turnout to complain about sports facilities, not that it's a bad thing....but why not have the same passion and turnout for the more pressing matters affecting this City.
ReplyDeleteYou organize and we will be there. Pass out your agenda on all parts of town. Can you do that?
DeleteI agree with 11:55am - perhaps looking at our school - perhaps finding out why the city's money was mismanaged?
ReplyDeleteWait... What's going on with the basketball program council? Because I'm hearing its alot of changes coming with that.... ive worked for rec basketball for 19 years, and now changes?
ReplyDeletepdate..... ive just been sent a text that the basketball staff, it looks like will no longer be needed as changes are coming.. something about volunteers running the program? Who is going to do the tables, who will referee the games, who will put the kids through the workouts before the season starts.. that's what seperates our program from others.. we just don't roll the ball out and play.. , who will... Ive worked on the Plainfield Basketball staff for 19 years.. WHY change now? Volunteers yes can coach as they have always done... but the rest.. being in charge of the numerous facilities going at once.. 2 staff wont do it!'''its 200 little kids alone!
ReplyDeleteGet your facts then see what you have to say. Perhaps you want Sharon back and the way she disrespected our children and the adults in this town.
DeleteYou are a Mapplethorpe supporter. Relax he is not perfect.
DeleteMr. all is stated is that 2 staff people(paid) everyone else can volunteer, no one says you can't volunteer. So with that being said you had 19years of payment to care. So change is sometimes good. With this hope to see you as a volunteer this up and coming basketball season.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous... i would rather respond if I knew your name..but I will anyways.. im not saying I need the money, and im sure the other staff members are good as well.., I make out just fine.... I volunteer teaching basketball, giving rides and coaching the youth of Plainfield 11 months out the year.... ...im saying, volunteers cant be held accountable... Volunteers can say they will help, but what happens when something comes up and some volunteers dont show, or when its basketball games going on in 3 different gyms on a Saturday.. the 2 staff cant be in 3 places... I dont even want to touch on who will referee the games,, while I know we as staff.. which about 80 percent of us are officials,, we can deal with the games and parents that will sometimes become difficult to deal with.... now I hear it maybe money for refs.over $15,000.. but that will cost way more than the price of 11 staff..$10,000 or less...
ReplyDeleteThank you for your time and efforts for our children Terence. I hope you volunteer and continue your good work. We need more concerned adults in this town. Please take a deep breath and see where things go. Thank you again.
DeleteBob Bolmer
I too am a part-time seasonal employee who directs the 12-13 yr old division of the Recreation basketball program. I moved to this city in '95 and spent my time volunteering before being hired in 2001. The small stipend we are paid is barely gas money. However, it represents a commitment by the city to the job we do administering, instructing and mentoring our youth and reinforces our commitment to the city and allows us to take pride in the work we do year in and year out, by realizing some reward for our efforts. The program is recognized statewide for its excellence and has been chronicled in the Newark Star Ledger and multiple local newspapers. To turn it over to volunteers who have no vested interest in assuring the quality of the program over the long haul, volunteers who will assuredly at some point feel under appreciated and not valued without any reciprocal commitment from the city, is dealing a death blow to the recreation program and the rich tradition of Plainfield basketball.
ReplyDeleteWhy are some folks so gullible. One party has a personal agenda so they put out all kinds of untruths and fabrications to draw the crowd and kids to the Council meetings. In the meantime, they don't realize they are being used and in the end they either find out what they thought they were fighting for was not true or they just go on ranting about the lies they were told. Wake Up People!! This is an old trick that continues to be effective of only getting the blindly led out.
ReplyDeleteI read the documentation. So take up for them and you should go to jail with them. They stole from our children.
DeleteWhere was Gloria Taylor when all the drama was happening to QCBL over the years, If she had bothered to do her homework before she used her inflammatory assumption that it sounded like a "takeover" to her, she would have found out that it was Recreation as allowed by SRB to try their best to run QCBL out of town. What she would have realized was that perhaps Mayor Mapp was trying to right a wrong. It's quite obvious that President Rivers has a bias against QCBL by expelling the Executive Director of QCBL out for murmuring rather than have her possibly shed some light to the accusations. Afraid of the truth??!!
ReplyDeleteNo The Baseball Director is afraid of the truth
DeleteMr. Terrence Johnson. What you are saying is that if you don't pay a person who really cares about the welfare of the children who want to play a sport, then that person (the volunteer) who is involved with the children who want to play any particular sport will NOT stick around and this non paid volunteer, will not be reliable BECAUSE he is not paid. Right?
ReplyDeleteBut of course this person who would only volunteer if he is paid is not you. Right?
Lola Stansfielder
Lola..... I pray your not questioning my volunteering and if I would in this community.. . what im saying is that small amount of money that is giving to the bball staff to ref, provide security, manage, work out, feed at times and provide rides home is nothing.... I volunteered for rec for a few years, as has all the staff until our commitment to the kids was noticed and appreciated to become paid staff by the city.. what im saying is the program and the way it's structured cant and wont succeed without staff members that can be held accountable and have a vested interest in things (the gas money we call it).... the way it works currently, volunteers would have to do more than coach,, and im my 19 years, ive seen good volunteers and bad ones...all help.is not good help, and all change is not good change.... every organization is basically assisted by some form of volunteer, but to just cut the staff, change the structure of which the program is ran (because it will have to be altered) and possibly get refs to referee the games is not fixing the problem...it cost more, trust me, I referee...
DeleteP.S... come and see me and my volunteering in action tuesdays,wed and Thursdays at Clinton school.... but email me first.. I may have a group of kids in my car heading for an away game, or the basketball hall of fame, or Delaware... Terenceplfd@comcast.net
And fyi.. I'm not really fighting for my position... im fighting For the position..for the next staff member thats next in line sooner or later...... we have poured do much time, energy,mentoring and commitment into this program I would hate to see it changed..
DeleteTBone they don't know. They just talk. They really need to be quiet. Most of these people are afraid of our youth
DeleteEvery currently paid staff member worked voluntarily for years demonstrating their commitment, before being offered a paid position. It validates the city's commitment and appreciation of the sacrifices we make Lola Stansfielder.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the parents haul their children out to the BOE meetings and question why the Plainfield schools are doing so poorly? and why aren't the parents more concerned about the low low scores of the PLFD school system. I understand the young people of PLFD need sports and other activities but I think their parents should be more concerned with them getting a good education.
ReplyDeleteMr. Johnson & Mr. Griffin, many thanks to you for all you do for the youth of Plainfield paid or volunteer you should be applauded for giving of yourself.
I'm a parent that went. My child test scores are high. However, I'm on the PRO and I make noise at schools too. I am a taxpayer as well. Your funny only basketball props. Sit down.
DeleteThe parents hardly goes to the BOE meeting and question why the Principal and the Superintendent allowed the Athletic Director to take the students classrooms and make it her office and the lockerroom aide baby sitting students that do not get dress for gym.
ReplyDeleteDon't have kids in the High School. Trust me if I did I would be there too. You sound mad that we came out. My child is an honor student on this team. So before you judge, listen up.
Delete