Batting A 1,000 Watts

 Flynn Park, Kings Park

By Erica Jackson

As the sun starts to set over Flynn Park in Kings Park on Tuesday evening, the children’s league players finish up their last innings and clear the softball fields. Next up at bat is the 40 and over Men's league.  They’re stretched and ready to play. The only problem  — they can’t see the ball.

“At first I thought I was getting older and my eyes were going,” said Thomas Morissey, of Commack, but then he said he realized that the younger guys couldn’t see the ball either.  “We would just be looking at each other, trying to see where the ball went,” he said.

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Comments

[S Black]

Although I am no lighting expert, it is my understanding that by using properly shielded higher lights, it is even possible to lower the wattage of the bulbs, and haver better, safer light on the ball field for the players. The town should investigate "Dark Skies" initiatives implemented by other cities and towns, such as Seattle, WA.
Seattle has more than a hundred ballparks that use Dark Skies approved Class IV lighting systems and dark sky advocates note Seattle has hosted regional, national and an international tournament in these ball parks. This woulld save the town in energy costs, and would be a win for the players and the surrounding communities.