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Light Rain Residents: Valley Stream State Park a place for family fun
Hope budget cuts don't force park's closure
If Gov. David Paterson’s 2010-11 budget is approved by the State Legislature on April 1, Valley Stream State Park will be one of 10 Long Island parks closed due to $29 million in service cuts to the state’s parks department. Valley Stream residents are already speaking out on the possible closure of the state park, citing the detrimental impact it could have on the community.
“It’s a great place for family time,” said Sharon Daly, president of the Valley Stream Green Hornets. “So many kids play sports there. It incorporates it all at the park, and to lose that, you lose that time families spend together.”
Daly said that even though the Green Hornets don’t practice at the state park, it’s not unusual to see kids playing pick-up football games there or sharing in a barbecue picnic with their loved ones. On the weekends, the park is jammed with families, Daly said, and with many residents facing tough economic times, the state park is a nice place to get away for a “stay-cation.” “Closing the park will impact the family unit,” she said. “Of all things, they raise our taxes, but the one thing you can count on are stay-cations. Now where do we go?”
Brian Pellicane, vice president of the Valley Stream Soccer Club,
aid his teams practice at the state park, and closing it will hurt the entire community. He said if it closes, the soccer club will be without a practice facility. School teams have first priority on district fields, he said, and time for his team to practice on those fields would be hard to come by. “I think it will have a huge impact,” Pellicane said of the proposed state park closure. “We have few parks as it is, and it’s really hard to use school property. Their sports teams always come first.”
Pellicane added that though residents may be averse to the proposed park closure, he isn’t sure how much the community can do. “I just don’t know how much voice we have,” he said. “If it does happen, I don’t know what we can do to stop it.”
He noted that Valley Stream State Park, in his opinion, is the best park in the community. “It’s the cleanest and it’s well maintained,” he said. “It’s by far better than any other park around here.”
