Opinion: Parks are crucial public spaces. The National Park Service owes us better.

I first met Mohamed at Malcolm X Park on a sunny afternoon several years ago. It was a Sunday, and DJs at the north end of the lawn were playing Punjabi hits. I saw an older gentleman singing along and I asked him where he was from. “Trinidad,” he said. He was familiar with lots of Indo-Caribbean and diaspora genres. As we chatted, I learned his name and that he had two daughters, one of whom was called Aliya, just like me. 

After that I started saying hello to Mohamed when I saw him on my walks home through the park, or while doing a few laps around the perimeter as I chatted on the phone with my sister. On Fridays, he’d tell me he had come to the park after going to pray at the Islamic Center and ask me if I had prayed that day too, assuming I was Muslim because of my name. I’d politely shake my head no and hide the wine bottle in my bag, which I knew he disapproved of.

Everyone at the park knows Mohamed. Sometimes, I have to interrupt a few people to say hello to him because he’s already engrossed in conversation. Almost all of the people in my life know about Mohamed; I call him my Park Uncle.

Mohamed lives alone, just like me. The park is an extension of his home, as it is for many of us who live alone. He told me that in the 41 years he’s lived near the park, he’s gone there every day. 

Recently, Mohamed and I have chatted about how we’re sad that Malcolm X Park has formally closed for restoration work for several weeks. The National Park Service initially announced the park would be closed all summer, but a neighbor-led coalition succeeded in shortening that timeline. The NPS has committed to the coalition that it would open the park in mid-June, though uncertainties remain. 

These shared social and community spaces are essential in our city. According to the 2020 American Community Survey, over 74% of D.C.’s seniors lived alone. Washington. D.C. is the “loneliest” city according to Census data; more people per capita live alone in D.C. than in any other city in the U.S.

For elderly people with families in different cities like Mohamed, parks can be lifelines. Parks offer fresh air, the opportunity to move, and a place to connect with neighbors — without the necessity of spending any money. NIH studies report that green public spaces are critical for elderly people’s wellbeing and health.

Malcolm X Park has its own community of seniors who sit by the lawns. Removing the park from our — and the seniors’ — daily rhythm is a loss of a crucial third space, that crucial space that allows us to engage with one another. Parks are also rare intergenerational spaces, which are critical to guard against social isolation.

I worry about the park closing and what it will mean for all of us who need public spaces to enjoy the summer after this long winter.

The Park Service has every right to modify the park, which so badly needs care, but doing so during the summer hurts all D.C. residents. The Keep Malcolm X Open Coalition, representing thousands of residents in the area, has already invited the Park Service to meet and engage with residents who rely on the park every day. With parks across the city shutting down temporarily or indefinitely as part of the president’s beautification project for the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Park Service should be actively engaging with residents and communicating transparently to ensure people who rely on the park every day don’t lose access to critical public spaces, particularly when they need it the most.

Yes, the park deserves care. But so do our neighbors.