Ed Kranepool, local politicians support Seaford Little League

The tight-knit community of Seaford has come together in a big way for its Little League — and pitching in to help is none other than former Mets first baseman and Nassau County resident Ed Kranepool.

State Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford) is organizing an effort to raise funds for the 66-year-old Seaford Little League, stepping up to the plate for the organization he played in 63 years ago. He announced the plan at Washington Avenue Park in Seaford on Sunday, and the following day, Seaford Little League President Steve Brown met with Nassau County Executive Laura Curran, who earlier this month reinstituted fees for nonprofit groups to use county parks like Washington Avenue, potentially jeopardizing the Little League’s season.

“I’ll just say we sat down this morning, and I’m happy with the way the talks are going,” Brown said on Monday. “I think Seaford residents will be happy with the [county’s proposal], and we’ll be able to play at Washington Avenue Park this season. I left this morning’s meeting encouraged for a bright future.”

Earlier this month, Brown learned from the Nassau County Parks Department that the cost of playing ball at Washington Avenue Park would be $16,000 a year. The league was just a week away from the start of the season when, out of left field, so to speak, Curran threw Seaford and dozens of other Little Leagues something of a curve ball. Curran reversed a decades-old policy that waived fees for nonprofit groups’ use of county parks and athletic fields. She cited the county’s financial crisis as the reason for the move.

When Brooks learned that the 600-member Seaford Little League would need a lot of money in a hurry, he organized a group of former Little Leaguers from Seaford, Wantagh and beyond to come together and help save it. They gathered on Sunday in Washington Avenue Park. Among them were Seaford Fire Chief Mike Bellissimo and Fire Commissioner Frank Allaire..

“I’m not here as a state senator today,” Brooks told those gathered on the baseball diamond. “I’m here as one of the old guys, coming off the bench. I’m here as a former Little Leaguer. Most of the guys behind me grew up here. Our children live here. We’ve been here for generations. Today is about Seaford and Little League. It’s about baseball. It’s not about politics.

“We all have fond memories,” Brooks continued. “Most of us remember ourselves as much better players than we actually were. But we all remember that we had a great time. Seaford is a special community. We’re prepared to give back to this community because we’re the benefactors of the services here.”

Brooks then introduced Kranepool, whom he called “an idol to all of us when we were growing up.”

“I’m here because a Little League is in trouble,” said Kranepool, who lives in Old Westbury. “I was a Little League participant for three years back in the Bronx, and moved out to Long Island over 50 years ago. Anything I can do to support the league, to raise funds, I will. Of all the problems going on in the world today, certainly Little League baseball is not one of them. And it’s something that keeps our kids busy nights and weekends.”

No details of the fundraising plan were announced, but Brooks closed Sunday’s event by saying, “This is an effort made by a bunch of guys too old to run the bases, but who remember running them. Let’s make sure the Seaford Little League is fully funded.”

“We’re not going to set a specific goal,” he added later. “But you saw what happened here after 9/11, what happened here after the hurricane, what happens here when a family is in trouble. This community comes together.”

When Brown received the $16,000 bill in the mail, he called County Legislator Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore), and Rhoads and another legislator, Rose Walker (R-Hicksville), called a news conference and wrote tentative legislation to reverse Curran’s decision. Their bill would prohibit the county parks commissioner from charging fees for the use of athletic fields to non-profits, Rhoads and Walker said. They hoped to propose it to the full Legislature at its next meeting on March 26.

More than 150 Seaford parents, children, coaches, baseball and softball players of all ages rallied with Rhoads, Walker and other officials at the park on March 15, protesting Curran’s decision.

“At a time when we are fighting an opioid epidemic in Nassau County, we should be making it easier for kids to have access to a positive alternative like Little league, not harder,” Rhoads said at the first gathering. “It’s $269,000 out of a $3 billion budget,” he added, referring to the total of the fees the county waived last year. “The impact is like a penny out of a $100 bill.”

“We have some of the best parks in the country here in Nassau,” Walker said, “and it’s sad that these groups might be priced out of using them.”

Brown said he would take the proposal presented to him on Monday to the Little League’s board of directors on Tuesday, after the Herald went to press.