Mayor La’Daena Londo says the vandalism, which included a racial slur and threatening language, is the latest in a string of damage at the borough-funded park.
PENNS GROVE — Penns Grove Mayor La’Daena Londo is demanding accountability after discovering racist graffiti spray-painted at Barber Park, calling the vandalism “a shame” in a video recorded at the scene and shared on the borough’s Facebook page.
The graffiti included a racial slur and threatening language directed at a nearby resident, according to Londo and this reporter’s own observation of the vandalism on video.
“I’m always open to criticism. I always wanted to do the right thing and get it right,” Londo said in the video, before turning her camera toward the damage. “Not only am I outraged — everyone should be outraged.”
Londo said the borough has invested significant grant money and labor into improving Barber Park in recent years, work she said stands in sharp contrast to repeated vandalism at the site. “We put so much money [into this]. We worked so hard to get grant money. We worked so hard to fix this park,” she said.
While she said she didn’t know who was responsible, Londo pushed back on the idea that the vandalism was the work of children, placing the blame instead on adults using the park improperly. “It’s not our young kids that come here and want to play basketball — they want to enjoy the park,” she said. “It’s grown-ass people that are in here, smoking, doing whatever they want to do.”
Still, Londo directed a pointed message to parents in the community. “I don’t know whose kids these are, but parents — if you know these are your kids, you need to get control of your kids,” she said. “Get a grip on your kids.”
Londo also addressed residents who complain the borough doesn’t do enough for young people, noting the cost of repainting and repairing vandalized equipment and surfaces at the park. She pointed to older photos of the park to argue it has improved substantially since she took office. “If you take a look at pictures of what it looked like ten years ago, seven years ago, when I first got here — it’s a big difference,” she said.
In response to the vandalism, Londo said the borough will expand video surveillance throughout the park. “We’re putting cameras all through this park,” she said. “I’m tired of it.”
Signage already posted at Barber Park’s entrance notes the park is under 24-hour video surveillance.
Londo closed her remarks with a direct appeal to whoever is responsible. “To the parent and the child — you ought to be ashamed of yourself,” she said. “It’s your park. Take care of it. We have trash cans here — put your trash in a trash can.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available, including whether the incident has been reported to Penns Grove police.
