Lindenhurst residents decry delays in funding park renovation

State money to renovate a Lindenhurst Village park remains in limbo three years after it was promised, frustrating residents who live near the park.

Lt. Edward Weckerle Memorial Park has been in a state of deterioration for more than a decade, residents said. Kristin Fusaro began a petition drive in 2015 that collected more than 600 signatures asking the village to make park improvements, including better accessibility for the disabled.

Village officials at the time acknowledged that the tiny park, which sits at the intersection of West John Street, North Ninth Street and New York Avenue, had been overlooked but promised regular cleanups. However, they said, the cost of a full renovation was beyond the village’s budget.

In late 2015, officials learned the village was designated to receive $100,000 for the park as part of a grant obtained by then-state Sen. Michael Venditto (R-Massapequa).

But the check has yet to arrive and residents are restless.

“It should not take this long to get such a small park renovated,” Fusaro said. “I was always realistic with the fact that this was not something that was going to happen quickly, but I never expected almost three years later we would still be looking at the same deteriorated and unkempt park.”

Fusaro organized craft fairs to raise money for the park, but the few thousand dollars the events produced are just a “drop in the bucket” compared to what is needed, she said. The equipment and sand floor need to be removed and replaced with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant play equipment and a wheelchair-accessible rubber safety surface, she said.

“There’s really very little we can do unless this grant money comes through, and that’s why it’s very frustrating,” she said.

Lindenhurst Mayor Mike Lavorata said officials have been trying to find out when the funds are coming and have continually hit walls. “The grant money has kind of languished in purgatory,” he said.

The funding is administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Spokesman David Perritano said the agency completed its review of the grant on March 10, 2017, and it was sent to the state Senate. No action was taken, so the grant was resubmitted on Jan. 11, he said.

State Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford), who defeated Venditto in 2016, blamed the delay on the Senate Republican majority. State Sen. Phil Boyle (R-Bay Shore) dismissed that claim and said a yearslong wait for a grant is not unusual.

“I am literally dealing with one that is 10 years old,” he said. “The wheels of government turn slowly, but they do turn.”

Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif said that at the request of Boyle, Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan (R-East Northport) “recently signed off on this project.” According to Reif, the grant paperwork has been sent to the Dormitory Authority and “the project is moving forward.”

A spokeswoman for the agency said Wednesday that they still do not have the paperwork. Once they get it, the grant must receive final approval from the state’s Division of the Budget before the money is released.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.