Heartside Park,

301 Ionia Avenue Southwest, Grand Rapids, MI 49503

"A great place to catch a disease! If you feel like bumming around near downtown head on over to the heartside park area. Engage with the locals and enjoy a beverage with them. Mind your step as the area is sometimes seeded with fecal matter of the human variety with the occasional crack pipe and needle for added spice. The splash pad is operational in the warmer months and subs as an outdoor shower facility and urinal. (Kids not recommended) Once a year the city goes through and cleans up the litter, drug paraphernalia and empty booze bottles and renders the place fit for visitation for about a day. Don’t go."

"Seeing this park now, i find it almost unimaginable that the city would run festivals here years ago. There are people engaging in drug use, and those experiencing mental health issues too. This is NOT the place to walk around, and certainly not a place for children, despite the playground here. That being said, downtown ambassadors regularly work to keep the space as clean as possible and timed-use bathrooms are available for those who can’t hold it. There are people with hard lives staying here, and I hope the city keeps investing in resources that makes it such that they are certain they would be better off in a shelter. Often, there are charitable people who come and set up food lines here. People also set up clothing drives, Medicaid signups, sponsored internet/phone services. The sporadic nature of this charity contributes to the general over-occupation of this space. I get that people want to feel good about themselves, but they should be giving their time or money to a homeless shelter like Mel Trotter, as they have a proven track record of getting people back on their feet and supporting them to build their own lives. “Giving a man a fish” just fosters dependency on philanthropy hobbyists."

"Nice park with basketball hoops and a small water park area. A lot of suspicious activity nearby though. A few homeless encampments."

"Beautiful Park! We enjoyed the food truck event. Great People. Lots of food choices, long lines. Great Music. There were lots of places to sit."

"Went to the Food Truck Festival at Heartside Park. It was a windy day but a nice event. The food was delicious and I loved that they showed the movie Food Truck. Just wished I knew to bring a chair or I would have stayed longer. I also read on the website dogs would not be allowed, so I left mine at home. I think most of the people who stayed to watch the movie either had a dog or a child. I hope the Food Trucks become a more regular publicized event."