With FIFA Fan Fest over in Philadelphia, neighbors are concerned about debris and damage left behind

As restoration work continues at Lemon Hill Park following FIFA Fan Fest, some neighbors said they're concerned about debris left behind and the condition of the park after weeks of hosting thousands of visitors.

On Wednesday, Philadelphia Parks & Recreation crews were on site aerating the soil and laying mulch as part of the restoration process. Workers told CBS News Philadelphia the work is preparing the park for grass to be re-seeded in the months ahead.

For nearby resident Alex Servey, the biggest concern is safety.

Servey regularly walks his 13-year-old Yorkie Scruffy through Lemon Hill Park, but said those walks have changed since Fan Fest ended.

"Over that way, we saw some pieces of wood with some screws in them. We saw a big metal piece of trash," Servey said.

During a walk through the park, CBS News Philadelphia also found scattered screws, metal fragments and broken glass in parts of the lawn.

"There's a lot of glass from broken bottles, and then also it's just a lot of dirt — way more dirt. It used to be grass," Servey said. "I'm worried about him stepping on glass. I'm worried about him eating something. And also, I just feel like it's better if he walks around in grass than dirt."

Servey also worries about the park's long-term recovery.

"I'm kind of worried it's not going to ever grow back," Servey said.

Another nearby resident, Jason Curtis, has been documenting the park's condition through photographs. As a landscape architect, he said repairing the lawn will take time.

"When you put this much weight from vehicles and people on any ground that is planted, the soil compacts. It takes the air out. It crushes the microbes in the soil, and it's no longer functional as soil," Curtis said. "In order to fix that, you have to decompact and aerate it."

Curtis said restoring the park is complicated because it remains heavily used by the surrounding neighborhood.

"It's an active park. Unless you cordon off pieces of it at a time and rejuvenate it over time, you can't take the whole park offline for another six months. You'll lose the whole neighborhood," he said.

Longtime park visitor Irene Jones said she immediately noticed the changes when she returned after FIFA Fan Fest.

"The aftermath of this place is kind of … it's different," Jones said.

She said she misses some of the park's features, including benches where neighbors regularly gathered.

"There are no more benches for us to sit on," Jones said. "The community and everybody comes out every day like myself."

Still, Jones said she believes hosting Fan Fest was worthwhile.

"Seeing it on the news and how everybody all over America celebrated and everybody came into the games and all the festivities — it was a good feeling. A very good feeling," she said.

Curtis agreed the event brought positive experiences to the neighborhood, saying international visitors ventured beyond the festival grounds to nearby businesses. Even so, Curtis believes the environmental impact should not be overlooked.

"Culturally, Fan Fest was a smashing success. Ecologically, not as much," he said.

CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the City of Philadelphia for an estimated timeline for the park's full restoration and is awaiting a response.