North Hollywood’s Bellaire Avenue Pocket Park attracts no visitors on a sunny Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. The park was built next to an already established one where many children in the area engage in recreational activities. (Giovanni Moujaes/Neon Tommy)

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced L.A.’s “50 Parks Initiative” in August 2012 to combat this issue by building over 50 pocket parks over a three-year period, with at least one in every two mile radius of the city; however, over two years later, the city is not on track to meet its own goal and has not kept its detailed progress updated.

About 28 parks have been built since the initiative began, according to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. That leaves less than a year to build 20 more.

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“We are committed to completing 50 parks within the time period that we set,” said Rose Watson, public information officer for L.A. Recreation and Parks. Watson also said that the projects would likely exceed 50 over the course of the next year.

Due to their size, pocket parks can be built on almost any vacant lot. Most of these recreational spaces range from 5,000 to 20,000 square feet and cost anywhere from $250,000 and $750,000 to develop, according to the initiative.

While good in concept, several pocket parks—especially those developed solely by the city—are built without the surrounding community’s input. One such park was established in L.A. City Council District 2 on Bellaire Avenue before the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council was formed in 2011.

“We didn’t know much about it, nor were able to vote on it at the time,” said Carol Rose, community organizer for the North Hollywood Neighborhood Council. “It just happened since the council wasn’t around.”

The pocket park is located next to Jamie Beth Slaven Park, which contains more space for recreational activities and has existed in the community for more than 20 years, prompting the question why Bellaire was needed in the first place.

“The pocket parks attract parents with toddlers and older people, and they provide a safe space,” said David Hechter, N.H.N.C. treasurer. “They’re not really meant for kids engaging in recreational activities that other parks can host.”

Rose said that Slaven Park added a handicap-accessible playground in June 2013, which took some of the residents away from the Bellaire site. She also mentioned that the neighborhood council was not involved in approving the project.

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Several of the developments depend on outside support from community groups and non-profit organizations to adequately meet the demands of communities across the district and beyond.

“I know that the city is doing its best to reach out to the communities that they’re working in, but a lack of resources in staff makes it tough to cover everything,” said Michael Kim, project director of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust. “As a non-profit, we provide that extra resource often not included in the city budget and, then, can focus more on the community itself.”

About 5.4 percent of the city’s $8 billion 2014-15 budget is allocated to Recreation and Parks, according to the L.A. Controller’s Office.  Since 2010, the figure has dropped 1.5 percent with many of the cuts going to personnel.

“The department is understaffed and overworked, ” said Hechter. “However, by building the pocket parks, it gives them a responsibility to keep up the land that otherwise could be ‘graffitied’ or used as a dump. That’s a really good thing.”

Having parks scattered around a neighborhood can also make them safer. According to Jessica’s Law, sex offenders on parole or probation are not permitted to live within 2,000 feet of any recreational space or school. In 2013, three pocket parks were constructed in Harbor Gateway and Wilmington, effectively forcing more than 30 offenders out of their homes, according to a February 2013 Los Angeles Times article on the topic.

When asked if removing sex offenders played a role in the proliferation of pocket parks, Watson said they did not.

“The kids and ability for all our residents to access recreational space remains our primary concern,” she said.

Reach Staff Reporter Giovanni Moujaes here.