Team effort mends N. Philly ball field

Responding to a Daily News report on how 10 years of city neglect ruined a youth baseball field at 4th and Dauphin streets, urban and suburban angels rushed to the rescue last week and saved the summer for 300 neighborhood children.

"This is amazing," said Washington, longtime Nelson Playground rec leader, standing on the resurrected field in the historically underserved Fairhill section of North Philadelphia, which has always been his home. "This looks like a completely different ball field."

It is. Only two weeks ago, the field was a dangerous mess.

A deeply rutted footpath ran across the outfield from Leithgow Street to Orianna Street, carved into the turf by residents who removed bolts in the chain-link security gates and used the field as a short cut - walking, biking, pushing strollers.

The danger of a child breaking a leg while chasing a fly ball across that trenchlike footpath made the field unplayable.

Because the infield was built over the foundations of abandoned rowhouses on a demolished block of 4th Street, sinkholes sometimes develop, threatening to swallow base paths and the pitcher's mound.

Drug users discarded dozens of used syringes around the benches where the boys and girls, ages 4 to 14, will sit while waiting to bat.

All that changed dramatically after the Daily News story.

David Broida, recently retired after 32 years as Upper Merion's parks and recreation director, called Don Testa, a suburban landscaper he's known for many of those years, who agreed to rehab the field for a deeply discounted price without knowing if or when he would be paid.

Both men talk about "giving back to children" as a personal mission.

Testa Brothers landscaping - Don and his schoolteacher brothers, Jeffrey and Brian - brought in heavy equipment to regrade the hazardous outfield ditch, filled it with soil and grass seed, then blanketed the area with straw to protect the seeds until they sprout.

The Testa brothers removed all the old grass and weeds on the worn-out infield, added topsoil and sod to create a beautiful green diamond. They built a new T-ball field for the neighborhood's 4-to-6-year-olds.

"I've been responsible for the construction of a lot of playgrounds, parks and ball fields in the past 40 years of my professional life," Broida said, "but nothing has given me as much pleasure as this project. These kids really needed a ball field and now they have one. And it's been wonderful working with Anthony Washington as a partner."

Broida is from an affluent Philadelphia suburb. Washington went to Cheyney University 20 years ago, hoping to escape his neighborhood for the suburbs, but chose to stay in Fairhill after witnessing the murder of an old elementary-school pal.

He helped bring Nelson Playground back to life after its notorious crack-house years in the '90s, and has been its rec leader ever since.

Despite their different backgrounds, Broida and Washington are two peas in a pod when it comes to children.

"We know that Anthony Washington is very dedicated to this program, so we are fully committed to helping him and the kids at Nelson Playground," said Acting Recreation Commissioner Bill Carapucci, who then backed up his words by announcing that his department will pay Testa Brothers' $4,500 bill in full for the restoration of the ball field.

Carapucci said that the Rec Department will expand the field's fencing to accommodate the longer baselines when older kids play, and has already fixed broken benches and bleachers, and removed trash and shattered glass.

"We are committed to making fields playable and to expanding baseball into underserved areas of the city where it has been weak for a number of years," Carapucci said. "We want baseball. I said that in my public presentation to City Council. I meant it."

Other benefactors at 4th and Dauphin include Chris Martin of the Lower Perkiomen Little League, who donated catcher's mitts, batting helmets, gloves and bats, and Stephen M. Lyons III, a Philadelphia attorney whose $1,000 donation included catcher's mitts, first-baseman's gloves and 270 pairs of baseball socks.

The Philadelphia Phillies' Rookie/RBI leagues, dedicated to reviving inner-city youth baseball, will donate caps, shirts, equipment and a pitching machine.

Opening Day is May 10. Until then, Washington will continue to sacrifice many a good night's sleep to watch over the reborn field, the urban miracle, the promise of an unforgettable summer for his neighborhood's children. *