Volunteers, artists and families are giving Mountain View Community Park in San Diego a fresh look while working to preserve the history and cultural identity of a gathering place that has served the neighborhood for decades.
The more than 12-acre pubic open space along South Boundary Street is undergoing community-led beautification projects, with volunteers painting, cleaning and restoring features that reflect the park’s deep roots in the Black community.
M.G. PerezM.G. Perez
Jeffrey Hayes is a life-time resident of Mountain View. He is chairman of the Community Recreation Group restoring Neal Petties Community Park, August 30, 2026.
“I think this is a second chance for this park to bring it back to what it used to be,” Jeffrey Hayes said.
Hayes has lived his entire life in the neighborhood and led the effort to rename the park for Neal Petties, a late former NFL player who later became the park’s manager.
Volunteers have already created artwork on a fence honoring Petties.
The park features red, green and black colors as a visual representation of the African American community.
“Nobody knew about this park besides the bad publicity. They never knew about nothing good, and you got a lot of good people that came from here,” Hayes said.
Professional artist Kim Phillips-Pea also grew up in Mountain View.
For the past month, she has helped Hayes organize volunteers and beautification projects, including efforts to bring back the park’s traditional cultural colors.
“You pick up a paint brush and paint, and before you know it, you are so involved in the work you kind of forget about those other troubles and traumas,” Phillips-Pea said.
Another piece of the park’s restoration came on Juneteenth this year, when a new, stronger stainless steel Black Family statue was unveiled.
The statue replaced an original wooden version that had been vandalized and removed years ago.
The statue honors the Black family and the community that helped create the park.
Jackie Del Rio and her children were among those contributing to the restoration effort with a fresh coat of paint.
M.G. PerezM.G. Perez
Volunteers helped with paint for Sunday’s beautification art project in Mountain View Community Park, August 30, 2026.
“It represents unity, family, community, and empowerment. It’s important for my kids to experience that,” Del Rio told NBC 7 Sunday while she painted. “It was their idea to volunteer for this.”
Her 8-year-old son, Rey’Jay, also took part.
“I like painting, and I like doing art for my community,” he said.
The artists and Community Recreation Group are still seeking volunteers and donations to continue their work at Mountain View Community Park. Email Kim Phillips-Pea at sesdcollective@gmail.com to help.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.