is no "urban center"

Dear Editor:

Reading of the latest plan to improve the Babylon HS Field, I seriously question the reasoning for the project. Although I would love to see the field improved, lights added, all to increase the usability of the existing field, I doubt the project will serve its stated purpose. I question the assertion that these improvements will help solve the problem with an overall shortage of fields for our Village youth leagues. Said another way, " it’s a question of space stupid".

The improvements suggested do not add 1 square foot of usable field space for our kids. Yes, if lights are added and local residents do not complain about evening practices and games with the noise, lights and traffic that will result, the hours of use for this single field can be extended. Yes, the turf field will allow more overall use without ruining the surface. But the field can still only support one or two teams, at best, simultaneously.

As a youth league coach with three young sons, I can attest to the absolute shortage of fields in the Village and I think the only REAL solution is adding more space. I know we have little open space left in our Village but that’s a different rant of mine.

To proceed with this plan suggests that we accept a County grant that will likely come with strings attached, some of which may allow County residents to request the use our field(s). If denied they may have recourse, the Village has experienced this phenomenon before - when Federal money was used to improve RR parking areas and VOB reserved parking was lost. Additionally, taxpayers would have to approve a $500k school bond to proceed with this plan. All this when the success of the stated goal is, at best, questionable.

Proceeding would be as unwise as, say, a public subsidized project for land acquisition and improvements that serve only a small minority of the tax base. Oops forgot, we’ve been there, done that. Here is an idea - could we possibly convert some or all of the underused, public subsidized golf course that we recently created for sports fields? If we leveled some hills, filled in some bunkers and cut some trees, the result would still be better than many of the threadbare, swampy, sandlots our kids now play on. Maybe the County grant could still be used to add lights and/or parking? At least if we had to share our fields, there would be more space to share!

We should at least consider the pros and cons of both ideas before proceeding with one that will cost us more money and may not solve the problem. We owe it to our kids to make the best decisions, not the quickest, to safeguard their interest now and in the future. I for one am highly skeptical of creating a, "regional facility" in Babylon Village to solve a shortage of space for "county fields". However, maybe I’m too concerned with David Bishop’s definitions as he considers Babylon an, "urban district" and states that youth leagues, "currently play their games outside the Village". David, please come visit and we’ll be happy to show you around the Village we know and love.

Bill Costanzo

Babylon