On Thursday, April 30th, over 300 supporters of the Reggie Wong Memorial Park flooded into Boston Chinatown’s China Pearl for a sold-out fundraiser dinner. Some came from down the street and others came from as far as California, but everyone came with the shared intention to honor the late Reggie Wong and to support the improvement of Reggie Wong Memorial Park. 

About Reggie Wong Memorial Park

The Reggie Wong Memorial Park, originally known as “Pagoda Park”, is Boston Chinatown’s only outdoor sports recreational space. Its existence goes as far back as the 60s, when it was only an empty plot of undeveloped land where local children played football. Around the early 70s is when the plot was paved over and Pagoda Park was officially built. It quickly became home to New England’s 9man volleyball community and basketball players. The park was constantly bustling with neighborhood children and restaurant workers after their shifts – all looking for an outlet from their hard work and often mundane lives (school, work, eat, sleep). While the park was enjoyed by many different folks, there was one person who remained a constant in the space: Reggie Wong.

Reggie Wong was the owner of Weggie’s Pub (now the Corner Pub), one of the founders of the Boston Knights Athletic Club, and a main driving force in the park’s existence and consistent use. He was described as someone who brought a lot of energy to the park and spent a lot of time both “inside the gates and outside the gates”. When “outside the gates”, he happily conversed with passerbyers who were curious about the 9man volleyball games or park space in general, and educated them on both the history and importance of the sport and park. Many community members considered him to be a bridge between the Boston Chinatown community and the general public, as well as someone who united different people and communities. During a time when women were only expected to become homemakers and have children, Reggie was a strong advocate for women in sports. He organized the first women’s volleyball team, known as “Reggie’s Angels”, in the 9man volleyball league (though the women played traditional 6s) and constantly fought for women’s right to play and their inclusion in tournaments.

“Reggie changed my life. Life [back then] was [to] stay home, clean the house, make dinner... [There was] no outlet for us.” - Karin Chue (Original member of Reggie’s Angels, Director of Women’s Volleyball at the Boston Hurricanes Athletic Club)

“Reggie meant different things to different people. He was such a giving, kind man. I don’t think I would have known much about the gift of giving as a child/teenager if it weren’t for him.” - Mary Tom (Original member of Reggie’s Angels)

“Besides being [my] uncle, he was just there for everyone. He’s made [a] significant impact on people’s lives. Supported people, community organizations, connected all of the Chinatowns. Everybody knew Reggie.” - Russell Eng, President of FRWP and nephew of the late Reggie Wong

A widely well-liked and generous man who was described as having “not a mean bone in his body”, his passing in 2011 came as a shock to the community and deeply saddened all those who knew him. Friends and family came from all over North America to pay their respects at his wake. The line was said to have stretched for blocks, an indicator of the kindness and generosity Reggie showed to all.

After Reggie’s passing, his long-time friend and Leather District resident & business owner, Christopher Betke, petitioned to rename Pagoda Park to Reggie Wong Memorial Park in 2011.

“When Reggie passed away, I was shocked… I was [also] stuck. You have an event that you can’t get out of that conflicts with a wake and funeral… He had given me a commemorative Weggie’s coat… [So] I went to a deposition and case hearing wearing that coat instead of a suit coat as a way to honor him. At the end of the day, I went back to my hotel room and after I woke up, I said I needed to name the park after Reggie. We have to do this.”

Betke recalls that when he wrote the petition, he “did not understand the depth of love and connection for Reggie”. He received over 700 signatures. (Chris’s Petition)

“I did not remotely know or understand the awesomeness of that man. I knew him to be awesome but I only knew the tip of the iceberg… You earned this honor, Reggie. We did this for you out of love, but you earned it.”

The park was subsequently renamed to Reggie Wong Memorial Park in August of 2012. (Boston City TV)

Although it’s important to note that the efforts to make improvements to the park are not solely about Reggie Wong, it is also impossible not to mention and honor the incredible impact the park’s namesake has had on the community and all those who met him.

The Fight for The Park

While the space has been consistently used over the past 50 years, it has remained largely unchanged and became neglected. 

In 2016, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT) and Baker administration made an attempt to redevelop the park, stating its effort to rid the state of “unused land”. Community members refused to see this beloved park turn into another high-rise, mixed-use commercial and residential building in an area that is already slowly being consumed by gentrification. They came together to form The Friends of Reggie Wong Park (FRWP) and alongside Chinatown Community Land Trust (Chinatown CLT) fought to keep the park, a park and advocated for the desperately needed park improvements. Stephanie Pollack, then Secretary of the DOT, offered a great amount of support and agreed to a lease. Eventually, negotiations with the DOT for a long-term lease began, but it marked the beginning of a long and frustrating journey.

Russell Eng, President of FRWP and nephew of the late Reggie Wong, remarked that dealing with the government agencies was not an ideal situation. 

“They were very difficult and resistant. We accepted all the red line changes that they made to the [initial] lease. They went silent on their end for many months and then they had to renegotiate a brand new lease. They put us through this process to delay us. They pulled it out from us. That was just not right.” 

The discovery of asbestos in the park soil, remnants from the Big Dig, was cited as one reason for the delay of completing the lease. However, Eng noted that he had asked them in a public forum about this and the DOT had responded that there was no asbestos in the soil. 

“That was never a barrier to completing this lease. It [all] adds costs and time. There was a lot of waste, all because of delay and resistance to the park.” 

Betke, also a lawyer and chair of the Leather District Neighborhood Association, also voiced the difficulties in negotiation and acknowledged the complexity involved in the process.

 “In fairness to the City, it’s complicated. We needed to have a legal entity and had to go through the process of having a 501c(3). The state has a bunch of requirements to determine [if] you are a legit org and all sorts of protections. We had to figure out who is going to do what? What is the state going to give us? Are we getting the park in its current state and we got to figure it out or do we have something that’s building ready? Throw in some soil remediation which can set back projects decades… You’d think that if a park was in disrepair that we’d just fix it, but there’s a lot of complexity and effort that goes into it.”

It was not until 2018 that Chinatown CLT and FRWP were able to obtain a 15-year lease for the land. The lease is renewable up to 3 times, and if the DOT were to reclaim this land, the park would need to be relocated at their cost. An important stipulation in the lease that the DOT made is that this was not a park that has been here for 50 years, but purely just a plot of land. 

Ongoing Work

Despite a global pandemic and stalled negotiations, it is through the relentless efforts of Chinatown CLT,  The Friends of Reggie Wong Park (FRWP), and the Leather District Neighborhood Association (especially Lydia Lowe, Russell Eng, Kathryn Friedman, and Christopher Betke), that the park is finally on its way to reaching its final form.

Sasaki won the bid to redesign the park in 2023 and took about 6 months to carefully draft up park plans. After multiple community feedback sessions, the final park plans included optimized conditions for sports, exercise, and play, but also considered heat and flood mitigation via cool pavement coatings, permeable play surfaces, shade trees, misting features, and a rain garden of native plants. 

“Reggie Wong Memorial Park is the community's park.  The community claimed it when it was an empty field and got it paved for court space back in the 1970s with City and State support. Now we are reclaiming and redesigning it as an intergenerational and climate resilient park in Boston's most extreme heat island.” - Lydia Lowe (Executive Director of Chinatown Community Land Trust)

In just shy of a year, Chinatown CLT and FRWP have raised approximately 75% of a $3M capital campaign to renovate the park. The banquet fundraiser hosted last Thursday came later in the fundraising campaign as a way to not only celebrate and bring greater awareness to the incredible work being done, but also to bring credibility and proof that the park is on its way to being built to a community used to disappointment. 

Groundbreaking is expected to happen in Fall of 2026. However, Eng is, perhaps rightfully, cautious. 

“[I have] no feelings yet in terms of pride and accomplishment. The job’s not finished. We need to get it done.”

Timeline aside, Betke stresses the crucial role this park plays.

“I think spaces like this, that straddle neighborhoods, regardless of where you’re from, offer connections… You go with a basketball in your hand to shoot hoops and anyone who wants to play basketball can just play with you… Where in Downtown Boston can you go to just hoop?... This is where friendships are formed, where community happens, and where comradery is formed.”

Final Thoughts

It feels serendipitous that this park represents the same values that Reggie Wong himself embodied: community, connection, and sportsmanship. Throughout the past 50 years, this park has benefited many different generations, including myself. I have never personally met Reggie Wong but I feel a strange sense of connection and responsibility to protect his legacy and story due to being a 9man volleyball player and being coached by two of the Reggie’s Angels. I’m not sure I would feel as deep a connection with Boston Chinatown without spending my summers at Reggie Wong Memorial Park and for the values and lessons his proteges have passed down to me. For that, I am grateful for Reggie.

We know the journey has been difficult and that it is unfinished, but we are endlessly grateful for those who have relentlessly advocated and negotiated to keep the park, a park. 

If you’d like to be a part of building the new Reggie Wong Memorial Park, consider making a donation. You can learn more about the campaign here. 

Special thanks to Russell Eng, Lydia Lowe, Karin Chue, Mary Tom, and Christopher Betke for their time and willingness to share their stories and memories with us.