Nissequogue River State Park - A Place For Healing

The push to construct a “Healing Garden” within State Park

By Chad Kushins

Last month, an initiative to construct a “Healing Garden” within the grounds of the Nissequogue State Park moved forward with a major fundraising event, organized by the Kings Park-Commack Rotary Club.  The “Wine and Cheese” fundraiser, held at the park at 79 Saint Johnland Road in Kings Park on May 2^nd, gave guests an opportunity to witness the unveiling of construction designs and tentative completion dates.  In addition, officials and community supporters were in attendance, offering commentary and words of support for the garden and the Rotary’s initiative – and to see the finalized plans for the upcoming garden.

“It is and will be a special place,” said Deputy Director of the Long Island Region of State Parks and formerDeputy Director Brian X. Foley and Park Director Sean Cruickshank State Senator Brian X. Foley, an advocate for the “Healing Garden” and its construction, “especially for all those who first came to Kings Park, the immigrants who came to Long Island to settle and build homes.”

Taking the podium to address those guests in attendance, Foley continued, “It has been a period of transition for [Nissequogue State Park] and we look forward to the building of this particular garden … there is something remarkable here and this construction is the first important step.  These hospital grounds were once an atmosphere of helping those with mental illness and it can now be a place of serenity and peace.”

The park is located on the banks and bluffs of the Nissequogue River.  The park was initially announced in 1999 and soon established on the waterfront portion of the former Psychiatric Center.  Many of the hospital’s original buildings remain standing in the park.  Building 125, the former Veterans Administration Building currently serves as the main park office.  Recreational events for residents take place, in the public-friendly areas, including, bird watching, fishing, canoeing and kayaking, hiking, biking, and guided tours, many of which are conducted by the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation. 

The proposed “Healing Garden” takes as its inspiration the numerous such designated areas located within public sanctuaries, monasteries, and other places of mediation, where the design and layout is made to exist concurrently with the natural surroundings.  In New York’s Central Park, eight separate areas are officially designated as “quiet zones” and the Nissequogue State Park “Healing Garden” would function for similar usage. The “Healing Garden” is collaboration between the Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club and the NYS Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation. 

According to Rotary Club President, Pat Biancaniello, “The Commack – Kings Park Rotary Club is a service club that does many things both internationally and locally.  After identifying this as a local project the club wanted to take on, we worked to find a landscape designer and to get approvals from the state.  Everyone at the state level has been very cooperative. Both Brian Foley and Sean Cruickshank have been wonderful.  Reaching out to the Nissequogue River State Park Foundation was a no brainer.  The Foundation has worked incredibly hard to improve this park. There are so many people who are supporting this project, not only those who are here but those who gave generously especially Mr. Reichert, owner of the Fort Salonga IGA, who supports manyPat Biancaniello, Charles Reichert , Fred Kruger events here at the park.  We all hope to make this garden a place where people can relax, reflect and enjoy the beauty of the park’s natural surroundings.”

According to Nissequogue River State Park Foundation Chairman Mike Rosato, the “Healing Garden” is slated for construction in the more northern end of the grounds.  “Right now, we’re just preparing for the first phase of the demolition,” Rosato initially told Smithtown Matters.  “We’re looking forward to being a part of this project along with New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Rotary.  It will provide the public with a peaceful place with the park, overlooking the Long Island Sound and the Nissequogue River.”

Rosato was also on-hand to address the guests in attendance and to elaborate on some of the garden’s finer details, describing its conceptual design as based on Staten’s Island’s Snug Harbor– another public park which houses a similar “healing grounds” area in its cultural center and botanical garden.  “This state park,” said Rosato, is like a fine wine and only gets better with age.  Partnerships are what make things work and I think we have the right people in place,” he added, thanking the members of the Rotary Club and the State Parks and Recreation department, as well as both Director of the Long Island Region of State Parks Ron Foley and State Senator John J. Flanagan.

It was at a Kings Park Chamber of Commerce meeting on April 18^th that Brian X. Foley initially spoke in regards to $14 million that had recently been secured for the state park by State Senator John J. Flanagan, claiming that the total sum was slated for the demolition of the fifteen condemned and vacant structures of the former Kings Park Psychiatric Center, which once stood on the same land now occupying Nissequogue State Park.  According to Foley, the demolition is to be immediately followed by a massive clean-up operation, in which any left-over dangerous and hazardous materials are to be safely removed.

“What comes to mind is an outdoor sanctuary,” said garden designer Joan G. McGillicuddy, who made her own presentation of artists’ renderings and schematics,” while drawing on the principles of Chi.” 

According to McGillicuddy, when coming up with the final designs for the “healing Garden”, she kept those principles in check, adding both the enclosure surrounding by trees and shrubs, and the “meandering path” that was called for.  “What drew me to the overall shape,” she added, “were ancient images of ‘Mother Earth.’”  McGillicuddy added that water, especially the Long Island Sound just beyond the horizon of the park, will act as an “anchor” to the garden’s designs, which also will include only native plants and keep existing foliage and wildlife in mind.  To further concerns regarding natural wildlife, the garden will also mostly include “deer-resistant” plants.

McGillicuddy explained that the ultimate aesthetic goals for the park is to plant specific plant-life and foliage that blossoms during different parts of the year, yielding a beautiful visual spectacle no matter when community members choose to visit.  “What we would really like to see,” she added, “are things happening during all four seasons – that way no matter when someone visits, there will be something interesting to see.”

The finished constructed “Healing Garden” is slated to be built as 30 feet by 30 feet,  and could, depending on its success within the community, path the way towards a “next phase” – possibly a labyrinth within Nissequogue State Park.”

The demolition is slated to begin in early July of 2012, with an approximate completion date of November 2013.

Additional information regarding the future plans for Nissequogue State Park are available through the Foundation at their official website: http://www.ourstatepark.com/as well as the park’s official site through New York’s Park and Recreation: http://nysparks.com/parks/110/details.aspx.

(Note: Smithtown Matters editor and publisher Patricia Biancanello is a member of both the Commack-Kings Park Rotary Club and the Nissequogue River Foundation)