Oyster Bay to fix up 'eyesore' parking lot

For almost four decades, proposals to transform Oyster Bay hamlet's desolate Firemen's Field parking lot into more of a community asset have stalled because of dissension over what to do with the property.

But community groups and the Town of Oyster Bay, which owns the 3.51-acre triangular parcel, have now agreed on the elements of an overhaul for what is now nothing but asphalt. While there is no cost estimate, the town has scheduled a revitalization project for 2013.

"Firemen's Field is one of the obvious unaddressed needs in the community," said Isaac Kremer, executive director of the Oyster Bay Main Street Association, one of the groups that has been meeting for the past two years to reach consensus on a variety of local issues, including the parking area. "It's surrounded by great scenic beauty and historic charm, but it's an eyesore."

The revitalized Firemen's Field will remain a parking lot with an open center to accommodate the annual Oyster Festival and other events. But it is to be ringed with landscaping and have new LED lighting installed to make it more inviting and safer.

A new drainage system will be installed to keep stormwater runoff from draining into the nearby harbor.

The existing arch used by local fire departments to train for tournaments where they test their firefighting skills against other departments -- the source of the field's name -- will be retained. And three walkways that lead to the business district, the old train depot and Roosevelt Park will be made more inviting with landscaping, new lighting and benches, town highway Commissioner Richard Betz said.

The property was a marsh with several streams running through it until it was paved in 1953. That caused rain and snowmelt to wash off the property rather than be absorbed.

"The stormwater is a huge issue" that will be solved by the project, said Patricia Aitken, executive director of Friends of the Bay, a local environmental group.

Fireman's Field was proposed as the site for a Theodore Roosevelt museum in 2007, but the project died two years later because of community opposition and the poor economy.

With a more inviting lot, town officials and community leaders said, employees who now park in the business district two blocks to the east could use it and free up more street parking for shoppers and visitors.

But Bill Von Novak, president of the Oyster Bay Civic Association, said, "I don't think the employees will ever park down there," no matter how nice it looks.

Kremer said a trolley that ran on a trial basis in 2003-04 might be resurrected to encourage using the lot. And Oyster Bay-East Norwich Chamber of Commerce president Michele Browner said some merchants are willing to offer free coffee in the morning or free raffle tickets for people who park in the lot.