SPRINGFIELD - Community activists are urging the city to restore a damaged monument in the heart of the Mason Square area that was unveiled just five years ago to commemorate the site where basketball was first played.
The Mason Square basketball monument, located in front of the Mason Square library on State Street has been partially boarded for the past year in the aftermath of damage to its glass-etched columns, said Jesse Lederman, who recently launched an online petition drive that urges the city to restore the monument.
Lederman and other supporters say the damaged, boarded conditions of the monument hurt the neighborhood and the city.
"My biggest concern is what kind of message this sends to the neighborhood and also to visitors to our community," Lederman said.
Aaron Williams, who led the effort to create the monument including research and private fundraising, joined Friday in urging its restoration.
"It's very important to be restored not only for the citizens of Mason Square and the citizens of Springfield, but for the world," Williams said. "After all, basketball kind of belongs to the world right now.
Restoration is important "to educate people about the role Mason Square played in the birth of basketball," Williams said.
The monument shows a man passing a basketball to a child, surrounded by four glass-etched columns.
James Leydon, the city's communications director, said damage to the monument is unfortunate, and "hopefully sometime in the near future, the city can identify funding, either public or private to bring this monument back to its former glory."
Lederman is running for City Council for an at-large seat and has been a community activist including issues in the Mason Square area. With a recent ceremony to celebrate the unveiling of a new "Welcome to Mason Square" sign, Lederman said the damaged monument stands nearby in stark contrast.
Such damage should not be allowed along a major,heavily traveled corridor such as State Street, he said. Regarding concerns that the expensive glass would just be subject to further vandalism, Lederman said he and some others support encasing the glass in a bullet-proof transparent casing.
The petition, calling for restoration of the monument, had gathered nearly 100 signatures as of Friday, a few days after launched, Lederman said..
It is not verified what caused damage to the pillars, and how many were damaged, or if some were encased in wood as a preventative measure, residents said. It may have been vandalism, or stones kicked up by cars, residents said.
In 2013, the glass portions of the monument "suffered damage of unknown origin," may have been partially repaired, and were subsequently covered with wood, Lederman said.
While the monument was privately financed, it is located on city-owned land has been maintained by the Park Department, Lederman said.