INDIANAPOLIS — Dozens of people including students from a nearby school gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting for the city's newest park. Commons Park is at New York and Jefferson Streets on the near eastside. It includes swings and other playground equipment, a grill and concrete ping-pong table along with green space.
The quarter-acre site was previously home to the Outlaws Motorcycle Gang, which was shut down following a raid in 2012 led by then U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett, now mayor of Indianapolis. Dozens of people were arrested on a host of charges involving drugs, illegal gambling, loan sharking and other criminal activities.
The mayor told the crowd, "Commons Park is a place open to all. It is a monument to community and the power of what neighbors can do when they work together."
After the property was seized it was given to the city of Indianapolis with neighbors weighing in on its future.
Neighborhood leader Joey Newsom said residents wanted a place for families and neighbors to come together.
"There's plenty of space for play and recreation, and this is what we were looking for for the neighborhood, places where we can celebrate what we have in common, hence Commons Park," Newsom said.
"Where it was sucking out of the neighborhood...we now have a shining light we'll share with neighbors which will give us an opportunity to write a new chapter," Kay Grimm, a resident whose lived in the area for 25 years.
The park isn't quite done. Crews still need to put in the greens space and cover the playground area with "fall pads."
A parks official said the park is expected to open by the middle of November.