Peter Francisco Park — Attraction in Newark

This is a very tiny park. This is not the usual a park to relax in with your kid and pets. So don't expect any monkey swings or a bike path or walk your dog on a trail. It's no hangout spot for park enthusiasts of the norm. For that I suggest Riverside mark down Market St. instead.

Rather instead this little park is a modest tribute to the heritage of the Portuguese community here in Newark's Ironbound.

You'll see a few monumemts here. One is for the important but forgotten hero of the American Revolutionary war for whom the park is named after. He's not taught about at all in schools despite his shared history with George Washington and the rest of the founding fathers. We really should read more on this guy, his life was as large as his massive size.

There are two more monuments, one for the immigrants who have come to the United States and is the hallmark of the Iron Bound. The other is more of an avant garde art.

This is all worth a look provided you can squeeze in through the hectic Newark traffic near...

In theory this should be a nice place to bring kids and maybe to do some sunbathing and people watching while waiting for somebody coming out of Newark Penn or just killing time. In reality it's usually filled with homeless people, Church groups that feed the homeless people but never clean up which is why there's a huge rat problem because of it. There's a war memorial that's fenced up that looks filthy and has trash in it. In order for it to get better the area has...

This used to be just a regular park. Some homeless folks milling about; but hey, that’s the country we live in . No use pretending it’s not a problem. The veterans memorial was not well thought out, the design creates a secluded area that the above mentioned homeless folks will inevitably use as a toilet. The monument to immigrants is frankly an eyesore. The poem by the local councilman just adds...