The folks who want to turn City Park into a golfer's heaven like to say that before Katrina, golf course acreage occupied 34 percent of City Park, while the new master plan reduces golf course occupancy to only 31 percent, so what is the beef?

As my grandmother always liked to point out, two wrongs do not make a right. The reality is that the master plan proposes to use more than 50 percent of the available green space in the park for golf. Is City Park for all of the people of New Orleans or mostly for privileged golfers?

Fewer than 10 percent of New Orleanians play golf, so why the huge land grab? If money is the consideration, there are a myriad of creative ways to fund park operations that would allow the general public access to the majority of the green space in the park.

The very few, with money, power and influence, want to have their way with our park. Is City Park land to be sold to the highest bidder? Most people know when something is wrong, and this is wrong!

Here is one idea. A vast pool of money ($46 million) is required for the golf course project. Instead, I would suggest buying acreage in eastern New Orleans and building a championship course there. It could be "City Park East" and add land and revenue to the existing park without denying access to the main campus for a majority of New Orleanians.

There have been public meetings about the golf course plan, but they were not well publicized. How many planning sessions took place involving this topic, and who was represented?

John Green

New Orleans

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