In the Works - Community Newsletter In the Works June 2017 | Page 43

Neighbors
celebrate the
opening of the
transformed open
space.
It was nearly a decade ago that
Excelsior District residents, fed
up with the illegal dumping
on a City-owned, undeveloped
hillside covered with weeds and
pocked with graffiti, decided
something had to be done to
remove the eyesore. Their answer:
turn the space into a welcoming
park.
Their vision became the
Athens Avalon Greenspace, a
collaborative Streets Park project
involving neighbors, Public
Works and the San Francisco
Parks Alliance. On June 24, we
marked the project’s completion
with a ribbon-cutting and
community celebration.
Volunteers gave their time to
transform the steep hillside at
Athens and Avalon streets into
beautiful terraced open space
graced with drought-tolerant
plants, and the drab concrete
staircase has been brightened
with colorful tiles. The project
was made possible through
the generosity of grants and
individual donations.
The remarkable makeover is
now a neighborhood place
of pride. And, at its essence,
showcases how a dream, layered
with determination and strong
collaboration, can make magic.
June 2017 - San Francisco Public Works Newsletter