Roundtable Sparks Brain Storms for Increasing Play Fields

by Judy Silberstein

(March 8, 2007) The message from Fields for Kids, the local advocates for more and better sports fields, was clear: Larchmont and Mamaroneck have “maxed out” their fields.

This conclusion was familiar and undisputed by most of the government, school and sports leaders and officials invited to the Fields for Kids roundtable discussion on Saturday, March 3. The goal was to set the stage using a comprehensive survey of school and municipal athletic fields and open spaces presented by consultant Curt Coronato, of the landscape architectural firm Ward Associates. This was supplemented by information on field usage by Tom Spock, a member of Fields for Kids.

JIm Hanley, president of Fields for Kids welcomed the assembly and NY Assemblyman George Latimer served as moderator for the event and kicked things off.

Fields for Kids members Kevin Mullaney, Jim Hanley and Kevin Danehy discuss options with Westchester County Legislator Judy Myers at the Roundtable discussion.

The Data: Fields and Field Usage

Mr. Coronato described each park and field, noting their current condition and how they are being used. This was not “new news” for most of the participants, but was aimed at going beyond conjecture to work with professional assessments. Mr. Coronato also commented on the possibility of expansion and improvement.

The most startling observations came from Mr. Spock’s analysis of field usage. He took each of the 18 sports fields used in the community and looked at each hour (in the spring season) after school, on Saturday and on Sunday to calculate that the fields were scheduled for games or practices 93% of the available hours. Only a few extra hours were left, and most of these were early on Sunday morning.

“When games are rained out, there are no empty slots,” Mr. Spock explained. Teams lose practice time, and it becomes impossible to host a tournament. The situation will only get more difficult if the school population continues to grow, as expected, another 12% at the high school in the next 10 years.

As stated later by Lori Brandon of Fields for Kids, "One of things we wanted to do was take our 'anectodal complaining' and make it real. We showed it's real."

In the Works

NY Assemblyman George Latimer, here conferring with Mamaroneck School's Athletic Director Bari Suman, moderated the discussion.

Bari Suman, athletic director for the Mamaroneck Schools, outlined field proposals presented to the Mamaroneck School Board by its consultant on February 27. (See: Schools Weigh Two Options for Adding Turf Fields.) The proposals have the potential of adding up to three artificial turf fields (two at the high school and one at Central School) and expanding playing time by adding lights at both high school fields.

Village of Mamaroneck’s Deputy Mayor Bill Paonessa reported, to applause, that his board had just put out a request for proposals to add artificial turf to Lanza Field at Harbor Island Park, which already has lights for night games.

Last month, Village of Larchmont submitted a $2.5 million request for funding under Westchester County’s Legacy program to add a new, varsity-sized artificial turf field at Flint Park. (VOL Board Will Ask County for $2.5M to Add Turf Field.) The county is “not that happy with what we’ve offered them – which is nothing,” reported Mayor Liz Feld. “We’re working on that.” In return for the funds, the County would like Larchmont to maintain its stretch of Palmer Avenue, now a County responsibility, and/or to commit to development of affordable housing. Negotiations are ongoing over ways to make either option palatable.

Larchmont also has plans for renovating fields at Flint Park and Lorenzen.

At this point, no new capacity is being proposed for the Town of Mamaroneck, which has very little open space, said Supervisor Valerie O’Keeffe. “We’re working as hard as we can to support the Flint Park plan,” she said.

None of the proposals is yet a "sure bet." The schools are waiting to hear from their consultant on feasibility and costs. Larchmont needs the Legacy funding, which is still being negotiated. Mamaroneck Village may be furthest along, having started its bid process.

Brainstorming: New Ideas for Expanding Field Capacity Further

“At the end of the day, it’s up to the elected officials to make the decisions,” stressed Assemblyman Latimer, as he introduced the brain storming session. No idea was to be considered stupid; and adding an idea to the list did not mean that the group or the officials were behind it.

Mr. Latimer worked with three large pieces of paper as he fielded ideas from around the room. Participants suggested locations where fields might be developed (regardless of difficulty). In Mamaroneck Village, these included Taylor Lane (where there are challenging environmental and neighborhood conditions), Florence Avenue (with parking constraints), and various options at Harbor Island for rearranging facilities to open up space. In Larchmont Village, the possibility was raised of creating practice fields at Willow Park and Pine Brook Park. Another option was adding grass or artificial turf at the elementary schools. One suggestion was to relocate tennis and paddle tennis courts (even to a roof top, as in New Rochelle).

An idea that fit under “existing but changing” was to add artificial turf at the Hommocks field, where there already is fencing and drainage. There would be room for two full-sized fields or multiple youth or practice fields.

Another list was developed of suggestions for changing policy or practice. These included: getting athletes to walk or bike and separating parking from drop off; allowing stick sports at Harbor Island; developing a tri-municipal scheduling mechanism so fields can be put aside to rest and to discuss funds for maintenance; pooling resources to acquire land that is too expensive for any one jurisdiction; creating a website to communicate about when a field will be unexpectedly available so teams can schedule a practice. One idea suggested tamping demand by raising the age at which children would start organized sports.

By the end of the morning, Mr. Latimer had filled his three pieces of papers. Already, Fields for Kids was planning for the next session, which would be within 60 days. That would give time to “digest what’s been suggested,” said Mr. Hanley. His group will circulate notes and begin analyzing the suggestions.

Mr. Hanley recognized that the information portion of the session was mostly “preaching to the choir.” However, in the brain storming session, “people were willing to say out loud ideas that they’ve been reluctant to consider before as a group,” said Blythe Hamer, also from Fields for Kids. “As a group we may be able to achieve things that for individuals would be too costly, too difficult or too politically problematic.”

The keys, going forward, will rest on three words, said Mr. Hanley: cooperation, transparency – and urgency.

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page