San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Councilmember Omar Torres had a little fun in the sun Friday afternoon, playing a quick game of ping pong on one of the new tables just installed at Plaza de Cesar Chavez.
The bright orange tables — along with matching umbrellas, Adirondack chairs and chessboard tables — were among the improvements made this week to the popular downtown park thanks to a donation of at least $500,000 from the Jay Paul Co., which recently finished a huge office building at 200 Park Ave. and is still eyeing a makeover of Park Center Plaza, right across the street from the park.
New umbrellas and Adirondack chairs installed at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
“This park is our front yard,” said Maia Harris, Jay Paul Co.’s director of special projects. She said the park serves as “a vital communal space” for many important events in San Jose and that investing in the park broadens the city’s appeal as well as honoring the legacy of labor leader Cesar Chavez.
Other improvements include landscaping — the orange color is meant to complement California poppies that have been planted in the park’s garden divider — as well as new trash cans and a patch of durable artificial turf under the ping pong tables.
Maia Harris of Jay Paul Co., flanked by San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan at left and Councilmember Omar Torres at right, prepares to cut the ribbon on new tables, chairs and umbrellas at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Tony Arreola, a Chavez Family Vision emeritus board member and real estate developer, said what Jay Paul has done at the park demonstrates the power of public-private partnerships to transform the city and deliver a better experience for residents.
“Their investment at Plaza de Cesar Chavez comes at a critical time, as momentum is gaining for a renewed focus on future revitalization efforts, while enhancing its cultural value and furthering Cesar Chavez’s legacy,” he said.
Jon Cicirelli, director of San Jose’s department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, plays a game of ping pong with Maia Harris of the Jay Paul Co. on one of the new tables installed at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Councilmember Torres said he hopes to get the ball rolling on even more improvements to the park, including more that honor Chavez. He announced his request that the city budget for the coming fiscal year include funding for a master plan for Plaza de Cesar Chavez. That’s considered to be a necessary first step before any major changes are made to the park including the potential installation of the Breeze of Innovation, a landmark structure proposed by Urban Confluence Silicon Valley.
PROJECT CORNERSTONE TURNS 25: 49ers legend Steve Young may be an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback with a few Super Bowl rings in his collection, but he can still remember the awkwardness he felt as an outsider joining an established 49ers team in the late 1980s. He related that story Friday morning at Project Cornerstone’s Asset Champions Breakfast in Santa Clara, which in addition to applauding this year’s honorees also marked the 25th anniversary of the YMCA of Silicon Valley initiative.
Former 49ers quarterback Steve Young delivers the keynote at Project Cornerstone’s Asset Champions Breakfast, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
Young said he could feel the whispers behind him whenever he made a mistake, something that erupted at a practice following one miscue. “There was this awkwardness in the air, and Ronnie Lott — who was the famous Hall of Fame safety and de facto leader of the team — stepped into that space,” Young said, recalling that Lott told the team when he was growing up that Lott’s dad would consistently remind him that no matter what happened or what mistakes he made, he had Lott’s back.
” ‘And so I sit here today in front of this team and I want you to know I have Steve Young’s back,’ ” Young remembered Lott saying. “When he said it, he made a place for me.”
That “have your back” attitude was definitely a common thread for this year honorees, which were: Ally Bocchieri (Adult Role Model); Sherman Oaks Dual Immersion School (Caring Preschool-Elementary School Climate); John Muir Middle School (Caring Middle School Climate); Saratoga High School (Caring High School Climate); Santa Clara Schools Foundation (Community Values Youth); International Children Assistance Network (Positive Cultural Identity); and Kianna Giselle Garcia (Positive Peer Influence).
Lori Maitski, who is retiring after working with Project Cornerstone since 2004, was honored with a Lifetime Asset Champion award at the organization’s Asset Champions Breakfast, held at the Santa Clara Convention Center on Friday, March 15, 2024. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
And Project Cornerstone Executive Director Ziem Neubert presented a special Lifetime Asset Champion Award to Lori Maitski, who is retiring next month after 22 years of involvement with Project Cornerstone and 20 years on its staff. Maitski became the first Asset Building Champions (ABC) program coordinator in 2005 and has trained thousands of volunteers in the years since.
“It fills my bucket when I hear from volunteers that they have learned so much from the ABC program and feel better equipped to parent their own children,” said Maitski, who’ll also be able to use some of those lessons on her new grandson.
You can go to www.projectcornerstone.org find out more about the program and its mission to ensure young people feel valued and grow up into responsible adults with the help of caring families, schools and community groups.
SAN JOSE GOING GREEN: You may notice that San Jose City Hall and other civic buildings around town are lit up in green this week. While it’s a nice overlap with St. Patrick’s Day, it’s actually Nvidia green and meant to welcome the Silicon Valley company’s mammoth Nvidia GTC, a global technology conference this week that will focus on artificial intelligence.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the keynote address at SAP Center on Monday afternoon, and more than 20,000 people are expected to attend the conference at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center throughout the week.
FUN, FUN, FUN: God only knows some California girls (and boys) will be grateful for those new umbrellas and chairs at Plaza de Cesar Chavez so they can avoid the warmth of the sun and enjoy the good vibrations at what’s bound to be the biggest Music in the Park concert of the summer. Wouldn’t it be nice to know who it is? If you haven’t already guessed, the Beach Boys are set to surf into San Jose on July 28. Check the Music in the Park website, www.mitpsj.com, for ticket information later this spring.