DOE allegedly wants to build on Newtown HS athletic field

From Change.org:

The NYCDOE has proposed a plan to build a Pre-K school on one side of our Newtown Field.We cannot allow the department of education to take away a place where young people go to participate in sports and a place where young people learn the value of leadership, character, and school culture. Newtown High School is an entry point for students from all around the world. These students are entitled to use their own field. If a new Pre-K is built, we will lose our tennis courts, handball courts, part of our track field and possibly the field house. Our field is currently utilized by the PSAL for various events, Newtown students would no longer be able to participate in such events, because losing a part of our field would result in losing some of our teams and facilities. Once these facilities and teams are lost, they will not be replaced, thereby denying all future generations usage of their very own field. Please sign our petition and help us in tell the Department of Education that Newtown High School needs its field for current students and future generations.

What a victory!

From the Queens Chronicle:

The Department of Environmental Protection finally gave in to Maspeth residents on Monday after months of calls for the agency to allow the construction of a sports field on a meadow next to a proposed aeration facility along Newtown Creek.

At a hearing of the City Council’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses on Monday, DEP Associate Commissioner for the Bureau of Public Affairs Eric Landau said the agency is willing to compromise with the Ridgewood-based Blau Weiss Gottschee soccer group over the space.

“DEP is willing to further entertain the idea of entering into a memorandum of understanding with the community organization that will be responsible for building and maintaining the space for athletic purposes,” Landau said.

The soccer club will be responsible for the costs pertaining to the construction and maintenance of the athletic field, according to Landau.

Hmmm...this is a brownfield site that sits next to a superfund site. Sounds like an ideal place for local kids to play! And a not-for-profit will spend its money, which probably will come via a taxpayer funded city council member item, to maintain it.

The Grover Cleveland Athletic Field has seen better days

Several months ago, I walked past the Grover Cleveland Athletic Field at DeKalb & Seneca Aves in Ridgewood and noticed that the field had been ripped up. I figured it was in the middle of a capital project or regular maintenance. But lo and behold, all this time later, the artificial turf is still a mess and there's now real grass growing in the dirt sections of the field. I don't know what's up here, but it's a hot mess. The aerial shot of the property is hard on the eyes as well.