To the editor:

Suffolk officials would like to see a mixed-use development on the former Louise Obici Memorial Hospital site. But ever since they announced plans to put 224 “high-end” apartments on the site, there has been a groundswell of citizen support for a park.

The Economic Development Authority’s response has been to offer a quarter-acre monument to Amedeo and Louise Obici. It would be placed at the entrance to the development that would replace the landscape the Obicis’ built.

Officials have also suggested another 20-acre site for a park, but the city doesn’t own it, and officials have glossed over the fact that more than 95 percent of the site is in a flood plain.

A park would obviously improve the quality of life in Suffolk, but there is also evidence that it would attract more revenue than apartment units. We need to explore every option and come up with the highest and best use for all of our citizens.

This has been the largest grassroots movement I’ve ever seen in Suffolk. The question is this: Will city officials pay attention?

Jeff Johnson

Suffolk