Groups urging Hochul to veto bills that would allow Freeport Village to develop ballfield property

Freeport Village Board members have scheduled a third public hearing on rezoning a practice ballfield used by the school district while opponents of the plan are urging the governor to veto bills that would allow the village to develop the property.

The village and school district officials are waiting for a judge to decide who has rights to the Cleveland Avenue ballfield and whether it can be developed into warehouse space in a case litigated since October.

Freeport had previously explored selling the property to Amazon but Village Attorney Howard Colton said Friday the village has ended discussions to sell the property to the retail giant. The village is still seeking to develop the property with other companies as a last-mile warehouse or as a corporate headquarters.

“The village is pursuing offers better than Amazon and moving in another direction,” Colton said.

Opponents of the development and rezoning plan are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto bills passed by the State Senate and Assembly that would lift a park easement that previously protected the property from development. 

Organizers with the Long Island Progressive Coalition on July 1 led a rally with residents arguing for a veto of erasing the parkland designation.

Freeport school officials backed opponents in protecting the fields. The district claims it holds an easement on the property, which must be decided by a judge. 

The bills introduced by Assemb. Taylor Darling (D-Hempstead) and Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford) authorize Freeport and Nassau County to “discontinue use of certain parklands.”

The district has previously used the property as practice fields for the high school baseball team. The village has sued the district for $45 million in damages from the district for “interference with the village’s prospective business relations,” according to the lawsuit. The village is also suing the district for rights to the nine-acre Cleveland Avenue property between Merrick Road and Sunrise Highway.

"Until now, every Freeport Village Administration has supported the School District’s legal right to use the Cleveland Avenue Field, and we are urging Gov. Hochul to protect our students' athletic programming,” school board president Maria Jordan-Awalom said in a statement Friday.

The village is planning to hold a July 25 public hearing as board members seek to rezone three properties, including the Cleveland Field, the former Moxey Rigby housing property and a former manufacturing site at an adjacent property at 84 Albany Ave.

The village is also making improvements to the recently acquired Cow Meadow Park. Officials said the school district will have first priority to access Cow Meadow including three lighted turf fields and a locker room at no cost to the district.

The village acquired the 36-acre park from Nassau County in February under state legislation that ended 22 years of county control.

Village officials also opened a new dog park at Cow Meadow Park on Friday on a half-acre property, including dog playgrounds, a drinking fountain and dog runs with six-foot fencing. 

The park is part of $2.5 million in improvements to Cow Meadow, including playgrounds, a spray park and athletic fields, village officials said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.