Reporter’s Notebook: Cynthia Canady’s work is never done

Don’t just whine about it — do something. The people featured in this week’s feature story spoke up in order to make the parks in this so-called City That Works actually work for them. In other words, they pulled a Cynthia Canady.

This coming September will mark six years that Canady, a retiree of the GM assembly line, has tirelessly attended the meetings of the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. Her goal is now a reality: the new Southeast Community Center at 4201 East 63rd Street opened last December.

It all started six years ago when a friend of Canady’s asked that she accompany her to check out the old community center near East 63rd Street and Swope Parkway. Canady’s friend wanted to rent the facility for a gathering, and the parks department was going to charge her $200. “I was shocked,” Canady says. “The toilet wouldn’t work. There were tiles missing from the floor and ceiling. The blinds looked like they hadn’t been cleaned since the place was built in 1957. There were big gaps coming in through the windows and the doors that made it freezing in the winter. It was horrible for kids to be in a center like that.”