CORRECTION: The South End Community Center is open Saturday for events and a basketball tournament.

SPRINGFIELD -- City police closed Emerson Wight Park Saturday -- canceling a tree planting and moving a weekly community breakfast -- as they investigated a body found near the park's playground.

Springfield Police spokesman Ryan Walsh said officers responded to reports of a body found at the Marble Street park around 7:15 a.m. 22News reported the body was an unidentified Hispanic man.

The Springfield Police's Homicide Unit remained on scene investigating the death as of 10:30 a.m.

Willie Wolmart, who lives on Marble Street, said he was surprised to wake up to the police presence and not the usual community breakfast that takes place at Emerson Wight Park.

"This morning it was kind of a little too quiet in the neighborhood, and (I) woke up to caution tape all around the park here with a body thrown in the park," he said in an interview.

Wolmart said he heard no gunshots or unusual noise the night before.

"This area has been cleaning up lately and this was a shock," he added.

Jeff Bergeron, of Jubilee Family Outreach Center which holds a weekly Saturday morning breakfast at the entrance to the park, meanwhile, said his organization was not deterred by the police scene.

"One of the kids texted us and said, 'The park is closed; there's yellow tape.' We said, 'OK, we're coming anyway, we'll see you in a little while,'" he said. "The neighborhood let us know what was going on."

Despite the police investigation, Jubilee Family Outreach Center set up its breakfast across from the park, on the corner or Marble and Dwight Streets.

"Probably a few people who, because of what's going on, need a little more encouragement this morning," Bergeron said.

ReGreen Springfield, meanwhile, was forced to cancel its planned tree-planting project at Emerson Wight Park.

The event, scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park, was to feature games and contests, as well as invite the public to help plant 15 trees.

ReGreen Springfield President David Bloniarz, who went to set up the event early Saturday with 28 of his students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said he was "shocked" to find the park closed due to a police investigation.

"Most of my student don't live in the city, they live in the suburbs of Boston and part of my goal as to introduce them to (Springfield) and the work of the C3 police ... The kids were in total shock when when they went down there -- it's so opposite of what we've been teaching them all semester," he said.

Bloniarz, who took his students over to the Springfield Museums after learning the park would be closed for most of the day, said he hopes to reschedule the tree-planting event.

Springfield police did not say how long the park would remain closed, but offered that it would likely not be for the entire day.

Wesley Jackson, executive director of the South End Community Center, told The Republican that while police were at the center, it is open and holding events Saturday.

"We are currently open right now and have an event going on as well as a basketball tournament going on later today and tomorrow," Jackson said in an email.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more information becomes available.