Neighbors, Mayor of Benton Harbor differ on Jean Klock Park safety measures
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- A new community group the called the Jean Klock Neighborhood Coalition is circulating a petition calling on the City to close the park at 10 p.m., lock the gates and increase police patrols.
Jaclyn Elliott lives near Jean Klock Park. She and her family moved to the area one year ago and the area has quickly become her home. She's a member of the new coalition, which is asking the city to take action on four things.
"Start closing the gates again, they're already here. You don't need to put up a new one at the entrance. Restore the traffic safety on the other end of the park, it's already existing. Just restore it. We need to put some speed bumps in here so that the speed, the drag racing, the reckless driving, can stop, and kids are safe. Update your signage throughout the park. Make sure the laws are clear for the people enforcing them," shared Elliott.
Mayor Marcus Muhammad says he doesn't see any gates at any of the City parks being locked any time soon.
"It's never been locked. We want to find ways to create and enhance and increase accessibility, and putting padlocks, fences, gates around the park. I just don't see that as a help to accessibility, park friendly, inviting. So that's not in the plans," said Muhammad.
While the gate will remain unlocked, Mayor Muhammad says he's working with the public safety director and the City manager to ensure safety.
"Putting safety measures in place, night patrols, which public safety has done, as well as we have our park ranger who patrols during parking visits, in terms of making sure that people are complying with the parking meters," Muhammad explained.
Some residents have voiced concerns about a small, privileged, wealthy group of people coming into the city and making demands to lock the park, saying the coalition wants to keep the majority of the community out of the public park. Those residents say they couldn't help but notice that a large majority of Benton Harbor is predominantly black and the small group making demands are majority white.
"It used to be the twin cities, Benton Harbor and Saint Joseph. Let's get back to that. Let's stop making this a divisive thing because it's not. This park, the rules should be enforced for everyone across the board," said Elliott.
"Money, power, privilege is not a passport to dictate to a community or a municipality in the personal or group interest where it trumps or negates the whole," Muhammad shared.
Two incidents are spurring the safety concerns for the coalition.
A May 18 shooting involving Indiana teenagers and an October 2025 photo showing someone sitting in the park wearing a mask and holding a gun.
Muhammad says those were isolated incidents, adding he doesn't hear anyone calling to lock the gates at Union or Hall Park which still has police tape around it after a recent shooting took out the backboard.
Mayor Muhammad tells ABC57 he has to listen to everyone's concerns but ultimately has to make decision for the majority and says the majority does not want the gates to be locked. The coalition is still collecting signatures for their petition but according to Mayor Muhammad, locking the park is not happening.