Mike Rosato - Nissequogue River State Park Foundation
;)
Many long time residents of Kings Park remember Tiffany Field as the old baseball field at the former Kings Park Psychiatric Hospital. Today, it is the home of the Kings Park Soccer Club at the Nissequogue River State Park. Children from approximately 800 local families use Tiffany Field throughout the course of the year, providing them with important recreational opportunities. The soccer club has done a wonderful job maintaining and improving the fields for the last several decades. Over the last couple of years, however, the roadway and parking area surrounding the facility has deteriorated and fallen into a state of disrepair.
The Nissequogue River State Park Foundation, established in 2008 to help fund restoration and beautification projects throughout the park, has worked closely with the Kings Park Soccer Club since its inception. This past month, the foundation partnered with the soccer club to repave, widen and improve the drainage of the 1,700 foot roadway adjacent to Tiffany Field. The $38,000 project will help ensure the safety of our residents and will improve the overall appearance of the facility. This endeavor would not have been possible without the close working relationship of these two organizations and the support of New York State Parks. The North Shore Paving Corporation, a locally based company, won the bidding process and did an exceptional job from start to finish reconstructing the roadway.
On Saturday, October 29th, the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation and the Kings Park Soccer Club celebrated the official re-opening of the new and improved roadway. The park’s manager, Sean Cruickshank, and representatives from both the foundation and soccer club all took part in the ribbon cutting festivities. Donations from Sign-A-Rama and Power Crush helped put the finishing touches on this enjoyable celebration.
The partnership exhibited by the foundation, soccer club and State Parks sets an example of how to successfully and systematically cleanup and enhance the park. The Kings Park Soccer Club and many other local organizations have joined with the foundation in an effort to create a park that meets our residents’ recreational and cultural needs, while also helping to protect its unique environment. In today’s fiscally challenging times, these partnerships are essential to maintaining and improving our parkland and quality of life.