Fresh Air Fund brings kids to Niagara from New York City for a break from tall buildings and concrete

With 1.5 million inhabitants, the Bronx in New York City has three times as many people as all of Niagara squeezed into one-sixth of the space.

That’s where Jessica Martinez lives.

Small wonder that when she came here, the first thing she noticed was the noise. There wasn’t any.

It’s so quiet, she needs a little background distraction — a radio, the sound of a fan — just to get to sleep at night.

“In New York, all you hear (at night) is music playing from other buildings or sirens or people yelling,” she says.

“I live in the Bronx. It’s dangerous, really loud. I wouldn’t say it’s dirty, but it’s not as clean as it is up here.”

Martinez, 18, is here for three weeks through the Fresh Air Fund, a program that brings children and teens from New York City for visits with families in Niagara and other parts of the country and eastern United States each summer.

The program itself is nearly as old as Canada, starting in 1877, though Niagara visits only started in 1982.

The point is to get a few thousand kids who live in any of New York’s five boroughs — the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island — out of the big city for a few weeks in the summer.

Children and teens ages seven through 18 are eligible, and they must come from low or limitedincome families. There’s no fee.

It’s about more than just giving them a holiday they probably couldn’t otherwise afford — “the Fresh Air Fund showed me there’s more to life,” said Martinez.

“I’m not used to a whole bunch of trees. I’m used to seeing concrete everywhere.”

Looking at the stars

They call it the Friendly Town program.

Again this summer, about 40 Niagara families are hosting Fresh Air Fund kids for a few weeks.

“The first reaction when the brand new kids come — after dealing with the homesickness — (is awe) at just being able to go in the backyard and walk on the grass with their bare feet,” says Eileen Lucas, a co-ordinator, or fund representative, for the Niagara area.

“Some of the kids have never done that. Or looking up at night and seeing the stars … it’s a whole different experience. Getting outdoors, learning to ride a bicycle. Something we think of as so simple.”

It’s not so much a vacation as it is a chance to get away from the overpowering atmosphere of tall buildings, constant traffic and street violence in their urban neighbourhoods.

Niagara has amenities big cities can’t offer, like places to hike, clean community parks and swimming pools deep enough to actually swim in.

“They all seem to learn to swim here,” laughs Lucas.