VOM Board Nixes Turf Study; Deputy Mayor Resigns

by Judy Silberstein

(March 28, 2007) The tri-municipal effort to expand sports field availability has gone from collaborative to explosive in the Village of Mamaroneck as Deputy Mayor Bill Paonessa resigned his seat at the Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, March 26. Mr. Paonessa remained quiet during a lengthy discussion in which there was little support for his proposal to requisition a $10K study on the feasibility of adding artificial turf at Lanza Field in Harbor Island Park.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Paonessa thanked people for coming and quietly announced he was resigning.

“Seriously?” asked Mayor Phil Trifiletti, who was obviously surprised by the move.

Yes, confirmed Mr. Paonessa, who later said he will not be running for re-election in November on the Republican ticket with Mayor Trifiletti, as the two recently announced. “I’m not going to run this year,” said Mr. Paonessa when contacted later in the week, but he did not rule out a future attempt.

It will be up to the mayor to appoint a replacement to fill Mr. Paonessa’s unexpired term. As of Thursday, March 29, no announcement had been made as to who would be chosen.

In the wake of the resignation, Democrat Tom Murphy has not changed his mind about the upcoming election, he said. He will seek re-election as trustee, but will not try for the mayor’s spot as his party would have liked. “Someone will come forward [for the Democrats] – it’s a little early,” he said. His reaction to Mr. Paonessa’s announcement? “I’m not upset at all - this is further proof of disarray of the Republican Party in the Village of Mamaroneck.”

Reached on Wednesday, Mr. Paonessa indicated the lack of movement on the fields was among the straws that broke the camel’s back. He listed a number of recent issues on which he was unable to get traction, including: the day laborers’ suit (which he would prefer to fight rather than settle), the library expansion (which was “among the many things we flip-flopped on”) and his idea for a teen center at Harbor Island (“they looked at me like I had two heads.”)

“I’m the only one lighting a candle and everyone else is blowing it out,” he said.

“Everything is a rush to get elected in November, and then people sit on their hands,” said Mr. Paonessa. He had praise for Mayor Trifiletti, “He does a very good job,” but was discouraged at the pace with which the board was moving. “I believe there are some issues that I would put on the front burner,” he said.

“I left because I was being prevented from doing the right thing,” he added.

On the fields, Mr. Paonessa had proposed to study the feasibility of adding artificial turf at Lanza Field. The project was put forth as Village of Mamaroneck’s contribution to the tri-municipal search for new fields. Village of Larchmont is pursuing Westchester County Legacy funds to develop a new multi-sport artificial turf field for Flint Park along with renovations to grass fields elsewhere at Flint and Lorenzen Parks. (See: VOL Board Will Ask County for $2.5M to Add Turf Field.) Town of Mamaroneck is supporting the new turf field, to be located partly on Town land. The Mamaroneck School District is considering options for turf fields at the high school and Central School. ( Schools Weigh Two Options for Adding Turf Fields.)

At the last Village of Mamaroneck Board meeting on March 12, the deputy mayor and the mayor voted for the study. But Trustees Murphy, John Hofstetter and Toni Pergola Ryan, all Democrats, voted against it after hearing from Carl Alterman of the Harbor Island Master Plan Implementation Committee who objected to a fenced turf field as being counter to the plan approved in 2004.

Mr. Paonessa had issued a call for field supporters to attend the March 26 meeting to request a new vote. Field supporters did show up, but even they were critical of the proposed study for focusing on only one small part of the park.

“ Our organization is called Fields for Kids, not Turf for Kids,” said Jim Hanley, president of the local grass-roots organization urging action on field expansion. “We are not advocating for turf at a specific location unless it is a wise solution.” He called for renewed energy to implement the Harbor Island Master plan and for another look at developing ball fields on Taylor Lane, (where environmental conditions are an issue). (See: Letters: Plea for Non-Partisan VOM Collaboration on Fields.)

Mr. Murphy said he advocated “getting Westchester County involved – at no cost – to evaluate if any of our fields are suitable for turfing.” Ms. Pergola Ryan was concerned about the fragility of a turf field in an area that floods, sometimes with sea water. Fencing required to protect the turf might obscure the view, argued other speakers.

Though Mr. Paonessa did not respond to these comments at the meeting, he later fumed, “I do my homework – what they were saying was incorrect on Lanza Field.” But “rather than say something I might regret, I took a time out.”

Front Page

Print This Page
Email this page