Foul territory: Village, Little League clash over use of Malverne fields

Malverne’s baseball fields became disputed ground last week as arguments about their use dominated the public-input portion of the monthly village board meeting.

Mayor Patricia McDonald and board trustees had a heated 20-minute exchange with Malverne Little League President Joe Ariola and Vice President Jim McDaniels about what trustees described as the Little League’s monopolization of the village’s two fields and its unwillingness to work with the Malverne Mud Hens, a traveling baseball team created in May 2010.

All about the kids
The discord began last month, when the board refused to approve the Little League’s field-use permit, saying it had to review the group’s practice and game schedules first. The decision took Ariola and McDaniels by surprise, as this was the first time in 60 seasons that the board did not immediately grant the permit. McDonald said that the board’s decision was based on a spat over field use between the Little League and the Mud Hens last year.

“It wasn’t easy working with you,” she told McDaniels at the Jan. 4 meeting. “There are personality issues here that were a problem, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid again this year.”

McDaniels, who was Little League president for three years before stepping down at the end of last season, insisted that the organization accommodated the Mud Hens, and that it would do so again this year. Approve the application, he told the board, and have others work with Ariola to schedule time on the field.

“If you don’t grant it as it is,” McDaniels said, “what’s going to happen is you’re going to limit the amount of time that Little League has to practice and play. By doing that, it will jeopardize the children in this community.”