Oyster Bay park renovations are underway

Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Park isn't very parklike these days. But the roar of heavy equipment and dirt piled into huge mounds near the shore of Oyster Bay will pay off, officials say.

The redesigned and rehabilitated park will provide enhanced recreational opportunities and curb vandalism and graffiti that have plagued the deteriorating facility.

Construction began seven weeks ago on the $3.7-million first phase, and town planners recently signed off on last-minute modifications to improve the parking arrangement and other uses of the grounds.

The revitalized park will have a new multipurpose turf field, two reconstructed ballfields, and a new picnic pavilion and lawn on its west end this year. Additional improvements will come to the memorial area to the east and the Firemen's Field parking lot over five years.

The town board last week approved paying $403,500 to LiRo Engineers Inc. for services tied to changes to the memorial area.

Work is under way on the multipurpose field, where a lawn and some parking had been located, renovating the grass ballfields with new drainage and grading and adding paved walkways and fencing around their perimeter. The three fields should be ready for Oyster Bay-East Norwich Youth Association leagues by June, said Leslie Maccarone, deputy public works commissioner.

The association had requested modifications of the existing ballfields and the new turf field.

Under the latest revisions, parking lots for the new field will be replaced with additional spots on the north end of the current lot east of the park entrance and an additional new parking area west of the entrance.

Originally, the additional parking was going to be in a dogleg configuration off the existing lot, said Richard Betz, highway commissioner and acting public works commissioner. But a long rectangle "flowed better for access and egress and it will work better for the Oyster Festival" held every October. The revised parking eliminated curbs, allowing the festival to erect one large tent rather than several smaller ones for vendors.

The picnic pavilion and lawn that were to be added to the park were relocated to the north end of the main parking lot.

Improvements to the memorial area will include paths, lighting, reconstruction of the seawall, and new facades for the restroom buildings, a concession stand and an old storage building that will become an office.

The third phase at Firemen's Field, which is used for parking and firefighter training, will bring improved drainage, lighting and new landscaping.