First Person: Do the Right Thing

Closing the parks creates a double standard.

Whenever I start bitching about the proposed city-wide park curfew being voted on tonight (Wednesday, Aug. 8) by the City Council, I feel like I'm wasting my energy arguing with an obnoxious know-it-all 10-year-old who has his ears plugged by the tips of his middle-fingers chanting "LA LA LA LA" in my direction.

There are so many things wrong with the park curfew. Like blatant things: contradictions, impossibilities, illogic and such. So blatant, in fact, that I feel embarrassed having to point them out to my, ahem, city representatives.

For instance:

Police Chief Eric Johnson mentioned that this curfew was meant to make the parks safe at night so people could enjoy them without fear. But…um…how can people enjoy the parks at night if a curfew is passed that makes those parks illegal to be in after sundown? Plus, as a side note, I'm more afraid of cops these days then I am of anyone else.

Councilor Ronald Trujillo, who was the first to introduce this ordinance, was caught defending his proposal by saying something to the effect of "I don't think the officers will enforce this curfew for the kids reading books and kicking a ball around."

First off, yes they will, and probably with a grotesque amount of machismo aggression to boot. Secondly, you can't pass a law that's gonna effect your city of more than 100,000 people and be like, "Well, no, this isn't an actual law." Thirdly, if a city-wide curfew goes into effect based on judgment calls, what will be the cops' deciding factors? Race? The way a cop feels at the time? Chief Johnson would reply, "Officers will make judgment calls based on the possibility of illegal activity occurring at the park." Yeah…but…isn't illegal activity already illegal? Isn't this the kind of judgment call that cops should already be making, per their job, without needing a curfew to do so?

What will happen with Plaza Park? Will the city close Plaza Park at sundown? Or what about the freakin' decades-in-the-making Railyard Park that the city has invested blood, sweat and tears (and a helluva lot of money) into? Will everyone have to go home when it gets dark? Of course not! And this is what us teenagers (I'm 25) like to call an "in-the-tourists'-favor-double-standard."

The ordinance was essentially first introduced to handle the situation that occurs on a weekly basis at Franklin Miles Park on Camino Carlos Rey. The residents in the Calle de Oriente apartment complex across the street from the park are being kept up all night by the blasting "boom boxes" from the cars of the kids who park in the Franklin Miles parking lot. It was these residents, and their property manager, for whom this curfew was first created. And it was these residents, and their property manager, who spoke out against the city-wide curfew at last month's Public Works meeting!

Councilor Trujillo is coming from the right place, though. He wants to make his constituents in District 4, home to Franklin Miles Park, happy and without fear or sleepless nights. Councilor Trujillo has been nothing but supportive of the youth, which he should be thanked for and he, too, knows the important role parks play for kids growing up in Santa Fe. He simply has let this spin out of his control and into the "teeth" of other influences. Tonight's full council is his chance to do what he knows is right.

Tonight's full council is also a chance for Councilor Mathew Ortiz to apologize to the youth of Santa Fe for the way he spoke to them at last month's Public Works meeting, challenging any 18-year-old to run against him if they don't like the choices he makes and giving the condescending "life isn't fair" speech, as if the youth in the room hadn't heard it 1,000 times before.

And as for you who is reading this rant? Tonight's full Council is your chance to show your opposition to this ridiculous curfew by joining us in this fight for our basic civil liberties. Do you want your Santa Fe to be the kind of Santa Fe that excludes its own residents from being in a public park at night? Do you want to grant SFPD that kind of power? If not, let your voice be heard at City Hall (200 Lincoln Ave.), and together we may be able to talk some sense into this obnoxious know-it-all 10-year-old known as our local government.


The ordinance to amend the curfew at city parks was scheduled, as of presstime, for a public hearing during the Council's 7 pm session on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.