Jeffrey Fontana Park

Neighborhood Association

Build Community * Emergency Preparedness * Have Fun

2026 Fall Events

Clean Up October 24th

Details and sign up HERE

Teeny Tiny Pumpkin Patch

Details and sign up HERE

October 31st Halloween

Suggestion: Be festive & decorate your porch. Get some individually wrapped candy, snacks, or stickers or other small gesture and have your items ready to pass out on Halloween. On Halloween evening, stay home, turn on your porch light, and when Trick-or-Treaters ring your bell, open the door, say "Hello" & pass out your candy. If you leave a bowl of candy on your porch and one kiddo takes it all, don't complain on NextDoor, that's the "Trick" in Trick-or-Treat.

Future Events

November 21st - Native Garden Restoration in JF Park

December - something festive to be planned

January 23rd, 2027 next clean up

Join us:

Contact:

Email: Jeffrey.Fontana.Park.NA@gmail.com

Facebook: Jeffrey Fontana Park Neighborhood Association

Scan to Sign Up to Receive Updates

FAQ

What is a Neighborhood Association (NA)? It is not an HOA & does not have dues and rules. An NA is a community-based organization, formally or informally organized, functioning to build connection through fun events, volunteer opportunities, & shared interests.
Where is Jeffrey Fontana Park NA? We are 180 homes between Almaden Expressway and McAbee Rd to Redmond Rd and includes the east and middle parts of Jeffrey Fontana Park.
Why form JFPNA? What does JFPNA have for me?

“Connection”. Want to meet a few more neighbors? Lived here a long time and are finding your connections have waned? New to the neighborhood and want to meet the neighbors? Are you feeling disconnected but don’t know how to reconnect? Our NA will bring people together to have fun, work together, and build community and connections.
“Fun”. Could you use a little more fun? We plan fun activities together: picnics, bike parade, block parties, holiday decorations, game night, dance party, possibilities are endless.
“Conservation”. Did you know Fontana Park is full of Milkweed and is the breeding ground for Monarchs? This year we have at least ten and more on the way. JFPNA can support conservation efforts by protecting Milkweed by knowing what it looks like, weeding and mulching so the City does not whack and/or spray the plants with weedkiller. Conservation has been underway and is going strong! Weeding, mulching, & planting events coming soon.
“Commemorating Jeffrey Fontana”. By participating in JFPNA fun gatherings or volunteering in the park, we honor the memory of the officer our park is named after. Jeffrey Fontana was a rookie police officer who served for 9-months before he was killed in the line of duty October 28, 2001. There is a statue in the park near the playground commemorating his life and service and a memorial held there every October. Anything we do to bring life, joy, and community to our park, honors his memory.
“Emergency Preparedness”. Knowing our neighbors is the best way for us to take care of each other if we ever experience “The Big One”. Together we can learn about San Jose CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), 1st Aid course, earthquake kit making, etc.
“Advocacy”. The more voices we have, the more we are heard. If needed, we can advocate for our shared Interest (e.g., traffic, safety, or other concerns).

Is JFPNA a formal or informal organization? We are going to kick off JFPNA semi-formally with no by-laws or charter but with willing volunteers and the shared goal to create community through events for the neighborhood.

Communications: Anjan Tarfder

Flexible tasks: Sarmi Tarfder.

Interim President: Mary Cannon

Past Events

September Clean Up Event

Thank you to the volunteers who spent their Saturday morning together making Jeffrey Fontana Park even more beautiful. This was our third event and we've become a finely tuned machine. Thanks to all the weeding completed in June and July, this event was predominately spreading mulch. The estimation from Adopt-a-Park is 1 volunteer moves 1.5 cubic yards of mulch in 1 hour so about 3 cubic yards per person moving mulch during the event. On Saturday, 15 folks were estimated to move 45 cubic yards, however, our volunteers consistently beat expectations and spread every bit of the 50 cubic yards left for us (for reference a Volkswagen Bug is approximately 10 cubic yards). The new mulch layer will help reduce future weeds in this area and thus less herbicide use by the park's maintenance crew. These neighbors too the time to help create a more healthy environment for the Monarchs, lizards, hawks, and rabbits living in the park and for helping reduce the use of herbicides in the areas we cleaned. I really appreciate your joining us. Everyone walking by was delighted by your work!

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Sunday, August 30th

Native Plant Education in JF Park

Thank you so much for joining the Jeffrey Fontana Park Neighborhood Association's Native Garden and Pollinator Event. It was really wonderful to see all of you there. We learned so much about the plants we have, the resources available, and what additional plants would enhance our park. The growing community of active participants in our park activities is inspiring.

A *huge* thank you to Kathy Kleinsteiber for leading our Walk & Talk through the park. You are a wealth of information and a treasure to our parks! And, also to Dave Poeschel, avid volunteer and native plant and Monarch Butterfly advocate who was instrumental in the original planting of natives in our park.

Below are a few links to resources Kathy shared with us. To the left is a photo of the Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar spotted by Dave. I hope you continue to explore the native plants and pollinators we have in our community.

https://xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/recommended-plants-california-central-coast-region

https://xerces.org/publications/plant-lists/monarch-nectar-plants-california

https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/habitat-kits/california

Learn more about Kirk Park

Saturday, August 15th, 2026

Jeffrey Fontana Park Neighborhood Association Picnic

Thank you so much to everyone who visited our

Jeffrey Fontana Neighborhood Association Kickoff Picnic in the Park last Saturday.

We had over 50 neighbors stop by, hang out, play lawn games,

create some sidewalk art, enjoy some snacks, and meet other neighbors.

It was a great mix of newcomers, old timers, and people returning to the neighborhood after living elsewhere.

The vibe was friendly and welcoming and it seemed like everyone had a good time.

The best part was seeing all the people out playing and having fun in the park.

Special Thanks to:

George Casey D10 for sending the snacks. Thank you Gema for delivering!

Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services (PRNS) Neighborhood Engagement for helping pass out event fliers, making the A-Frame posters, providing lawn games, tables, and their enthusiastic support.

Claudia Cortez you are incredible.

The Shah Family for one of the giant Connect Four stations and Giant Jenga

Cathie Randazzo for sending the brand new Corn Hole station

The Cannon and Kasik Families for helping with fliers, setup, clean up, for just showing up and being there.

Tuesday, August 4th, 2026

National Night Out

Free popsicles

JFPNA's event is registered with the SJPD's National Night Out event

with the goal of stregthening community and neighborhood connection.

Since our Neighborhood Association is emerging, we're just doing something simple.

Come by, say "Hi", and enjoy a popsicle!

July 2026 Clean Up Event

July 25th, 2026. Park Clean Up & Mulch in JF Park (from the bridge to Almaden Expressway) Completed.

16 volunteers removed 420 gallons of invasive weeds, spread 100 cubic yards of mulch

(about the same as 10 industrial dumpsters). Lots of friendly neighbors arrived to weed & spread mulch to reduce the need for herbicide use in the park, protect even more Milkweed supporting our burgeoning Monarch Butterfly population, prepare a new space for planting additional trees and native plants. It was hard work but there was a great, community-oriented vibe. See photos.

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June 2026 Clean Up Event

June 27th, 2026. Park Clean Up & Mulch in JF Park (McAbee to the Bridge) Completed. 13 volunteers

removed 720 gallons of invasive weeds, spread 50 cubic yards of mulch (equivolent to five VW Bugs), preserved 25+ milkweed plants to support our growing Monarch Butterfly population,

and reduced the need for herbicide use in our park. See photos.

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