Babylon lands $4.1 million in state funding for Wyandanch parks
The area planned for the Great Lawn in Wyandanch. The town recently began construction on the southern part of the park. The state money will go toward the northern portion of the park. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
The Town of Babylon is receiving $4.1 million to help build and improve outdoor spaces in Wyandanch.
The money comes via the state’s Dormitory Authority, a public-benefit entity that provides finance and construction. The town will receive $3 million toward building a “Great Lawn,” a public park that is part of its Wyandanch Rising redevelopment. Another $1.1 million will go toward replacing a grass field at Wyandanch Park with an artificial turf field.
“These investments will build on the progress already underway in Wyandanch and create new recreational opportunities and community amenities that will benefit residents for many years to come,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a press release announcing the funding.
The money is a relief for the town, said Tom Stay, Babylon’s chief of staff.
“These were two projects where we were asking a lot of different sources for help with,” he said.
Wyandanch civic leader Latesha Walker praised the state funding for the outdoor spaces, saying it represents a “meaningful step” forward and that she is “excited to see this vision move from years of conversation to tangible progress” and to finally becoming a reality.
“For a historically underdeveloped minority community, investments in safe, vibrant, and accessible public spaces are not simply improvements to our landscape, they are investments in our families, our children and our future,” she said.
The Great Lawn
The Great Lawn, which will be east of Straight Path between Long Island Avenue to the north and Commonwealth Drive to the south, has been considered as part of redevelopment plans in Wyandanch for decades. The town recently began construction on the southern part of the park, using about $2 million in capital funds to pay for it, Stay said. That portion will include walkways, landscaping, lighting, a playground and a dog park. Estimated completion is in the fall, he said.
The state money will go toward the northern portion of the park, Stay said, which will have walkways, landscaping, lighting, benches, historic plaques and a community garden. Construction will hopefully start next year, he said.
While the Great Lawn will be built alongside new apartment buildings to the west, Stay said it will be a town park open to all.
Wyandanch Park
At Wyandanch Park on Mount Avenue, the town will use the $1.1 million from the state to make the multipurpose grass field into a turf field. This will require new drainage and fencing, Stay said. He said the cost estimate is $1.6 million and the town hopes to use about $500,000 in separate state money it was awarded to pay for the whole project.
The town in recent years has replaced most of its athletic fields with artificial turf, Stay said, a trend that extends to towns and school districts throughout Long Island.
“It drains quicker, it’s not as maintenance-intensive as grass fields are,” he said.
The field is mostly used by Wyandanch youth football teams, he said, but the town hopes to be able to open it up to town soccer and lacrosse teams.
Bernard Green, who coaches the 36 North youth football league on the Wyandanch Park field, said he’s excited that it will be redone. He said the existing field doesn’t drain well due to its location between the lake at Geiger Park and Belmont Lake.
“I think it will definitely solve the water issue,” he said of the turf field, adding that “the kids love turf and most of the fields we play on are turf.”
But Wyandanch resident Laurie Farber, who runs the nonprofit environmental group Starflower Experiences, said she is worried about the health impact of having an artificial turf field in that area. Some studies have shown the fields contain toxic chemicals and can heat to much higher temperatures than grass.
“I have serious concerns about what this will mean for the health of our young people as well as the health of our environment — and the adjacent wonderful ecosystem of the Carlls River Watershed,” she said.
Public health agencies have stated that while research is limited, there is no known public health risk directly correlated to artificial turf.
Stay said the turf field construction would likely be finished next spring.
Funding for Wyandanch parks
- Babylon Town will use $4.1 million in state capital funding for two outdoor space projects in Wyandanch.
- $3 million will go toward a public park known as the Great Lawn near newly-built apartment buildings just south of the railroad.
- $1.1 million will go toward making a grass multipurpose field in Wyandanch Park into an artificial turf field.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
New tech to ID victims ... Killer wants convictions overturned ... Actress, singer dead at 36 ... Out East: What's buzzing at farm?
New tech to ID victims ... Killer wants convictions overturned ... Actress, singer dead at 36 ... Out East: What's buzzing at farm?
