In the News
Ground broken for $15 million Barbara Rivera Community Center in Springfield’s North End
Springfield, MA,
June 13, 2022
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Patrick Johnson, The Republican
The vacant parcel of land in the city’s North End that used to be home to a neighborhood landmark will become a lasting tribute to a neighborhood legend. Members of the New North Citizens Council, along with community, civic and political leaders, held a ceremonial groundbreaking Monday on the grounds of the former Chestnut Junior High School at Chestnut and Prospect streets. The lot, vacant since the school was razed in 2014, will be the new home of the Barbara Rivera Community Center. The center, named for the late founder and longtime executive director of the New North Citizens Council, will serve as home to most of the organization’s programs. There will be space for community programs and activities, and a separate building on the site will house a medical clinic. The $15 million project includes funding from a mix of public and private sources. The city of Springfield contributed $2.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money, the state authorized $1 million toward the project in a recent bond bill, and the head of the MassMutual Foundation announced a gift of $1.5 million.
People at the ceremony spoke of their excitement at seeing plans come to fruition after years of planning. “This is a historic day,” said Maria Ligus, executive director of the New North Citizens Council. Ward 1 City Councilor Maria Perez said, “Today we are witness to what hard work can accomplish. It is an example of what happens when a whole community pulls together for the common goal of making a dream a reality.” Ligus said it is fitting to name the center after Rivera because of all that she did to bring together and elevate neighborhood residents. “This center is being dedicated to a woman who fought for the civil rights of people of color and for the growth of the North End,” Ligus said. Rivera died in 2005, but she left a stamp on the neighborhood and mentored many people, Ligus included, to carry on her work.
Ligus said the most valuable lesson she learned from Rivera was to love and to remember the people the organization serves. “She told me when the days come that you think you’re better than the people you’re serving, it’s time to go,” she said. “And I never forgot that. We have to remember not to forget where we came from.” Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal each remembered Rivera as a fearsome and relentless advocate for the North End. “One thing about Barbara Rivera. If she was with you, she’d go through a wall for you,” Sarno said. “And if she was against you, she’d put you through a wall.” Neal first met Rivera in the early 1970s when he was an aide for then-Mayor William C. Sullivan and tasked with being a liaison to neighborhood councils. The New North Citizens Council and Rivera, he said, “were part of my formative years.” He recalled many professional and friendly conversations with Rivera. But at the same time, when she wanted assistance from City Hall, she would not let up until she got it, he said.
“She was a great champion for the neighborhood,” he said. State Rep. Carlos González said the New North Citizens Council has greatly impacted the lives of people in the neighborhood going back generations. “I see two, three and four generations of people who started with (Rivera). And now their kids are with (New North), and in the future, their grandkids.” Dennis Duquette, president of the MassMutual Foundation, said the foundation was drawn to aiding the North End on the strength and vibrancy of the leadership of the New North Citizens Council. “The way forward is going to start on this plot of land today,” he said. “This represents a legacy of accomplishment, of hope, and is emblematic of the momentum in this community.” Link to article HERE. |