Off to the races as Greenport officials aim to reopen iconic carousel by Memorial Day 

Brightly painted horses that once spun on a carousel in Greenport now idle, lined up carefully in a municipal storage building. Across Mitchell Park, other parts of the antique attraction lie grouped together in the nearly empty carousel pavilion like intricate puzzle pieces awaiting reassembly.

The Herschell merry-go-round, built in 1920, was shut down after a mechanical failure in late September. Greenport village officials are now working with carousel restoration experts to repair the ride, which officials hope to reopen by Memorial Day.

The carousel was closed Sept. 29 after a mechanical failure caused several horses to lurch from their tracks. No injuries were reported, but the incident caused extensive damage to the ride.

“The work required is more significant than originally anticipated,” Mayor Kevin Stuessi said in a recent interview. “But not surprising, knowing that the carousel is over 100 years old.”

The village board voted earlier this month to spend $23,164 on disassembly and new timbers, the first of several steps to restore the carousel.

Stuessi declined to estimate total repair costs, citing ongoing evaluations by WRF Designs, a Connecticut firm specializing in carousel restorations.

The village is also seeking grant funding from Suffolk County to help offset costs, Stuessi said.

Experts from WRF have already recommended replacing cracked wooden beams and worn bases and telescope poles the horses are mounted on. Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment.

In the next few weeks, a crew will take apart the carousel's center pole to assess the mechanical damage, according to village trustee Julia Robins, a liaison to the Greenport's carousel committee.

“Those bearings are probably going to need to be replaced,” Robins said Thursday.

Long-term fix sought

Critical repairs to the center pole and wood timbers will make a spring reopening possible, but officials also said a longer-term plan is needed.

“We need to make sure immediately that everything is structurally sound, but bringing back the original beauty will likely be a multiyear project,” Stuessi said.

Future priorities could include restoration of the horses and making the attraction compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, allowing wheelchair users to ride.

With 36 horses and two sleigh seats, the carousel was originally used as a traveling amusement ride. In the 1950s, it was used for company picnics and community events at the Grumman plant in Calverton. After Grumman closed in 1995, the Village of Greenport won the carousel through a local competition.

Robins said the carousel includes a mix of original wooden horses and newer ones made of aluminum and fiberglass that were added after Grumman executives retired and received antique horses as keepsakes.

She said she’d like to see the oldest horses retired and perhaps displayed in the carousel's pavilion.

“They’re probably too old to be taking the wear and tear, day-to-day use,” she said.

Impact to downtown

The aging merry-go-round was shut down in March 2023 after lead paint was discovered on several horses, prompting the village to spend $67,500 on remediation, according to village budget documents. That project involved encapsulating the horses with a clear coat of nontoxic paint; it reopened in May of that year.

Robins said the village is committed to reopening the carousel.

“It’s the main attraction in Greenport,” she said. “It would be a very big loss for the village if we weren’t able to restore it.”

The carousel’s location in the park — the heart of the downtown business district — is a boon for the village. Carousel rides — which cost $3 — generated $190,705 for Greenport in 2023, according to village financial documents. 

This will mark the first winter without the carousel or a seasonal ice rink in the waterfront park, which officials said boosts tourism and business in the winter.

Ice skating became a popular winter activity in Greenport and the village built a rink in 2005. Aging equipment and deterioration prevented it from opening last year.

“It’s an incredible economic driver for the village and all the downtown businesses,” Stuessi said. “Not having that or the ice rink has really been a challenge for attracting people to the village in the quieter months.”

Nancy Kouris, president of the Greenport Business Improvement District, said the shutdowns dealt a "major blow" to small merchants.

"The upcoming winter season is always a challenge for the business community," she said, adding the organization is planning more offseason events to encourage locals and tourists to shop, eat and explore the village. One event, Kouris said, may coincide with the Greenport Fire Department's annual Washington's Birthday parade on Feb. 15.

Next year, the village plans to begin construction on a new ice rink in the park funded primarily through a $1.2 million state grant. Stuessi said the ice rink will be finished by winter 2026.