4 JULY 20, 2017 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
CB 5 votes against a new soccer pitch at Rosemary’s Playground
The basketball courts at Rosemary's Playground in Ridgewood
audience to the sport. It would also
be a sealcoat pitch instead of grass
or turf. Sealcoat is a pavement sealer
used to cover asphalt pavements
and is supposed to extend the life
of the asphalt. However, extreme
changes in temperature are known
to cause the sealcoating to crack
over time.
Photo via Google Maps
When the Parks Services Committee
Chair Steven Fiedler asked to meet
with representatives of the organizations
at Rosemary’s Playground to
discuss a possible alternative site for
the pitch, he was told that could not
happen.
“What you want to do with a park
is if you have something established
104th Precinct, 64-02 Catalpa Avenue, Queens, NY 11385
BY ANTHONY GIUDICE
AGIUDICE@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@A_GIUDICEREPORT
Community Board 5 (CB 5) called
foul on an initiative to bring
a soccer field to Rosemary’s
Playground in Ridgewood, claiming
the proposed pitch would result in the
loss of basketball courts popular with
local kids.
During its monthly meeting on July
12 at Christ the King High School in
Middle Village, the full CB 5 board
voted 31-7 in favor of adopting its Parks
Services Committee’s objection to the
soccer fi eld coming to the park located
on the block bounded by Fairview and
Woodward avenues as well as Madison
and Woodbine streets.
According to Gary Giordano, district
manager of CB 5, the Mayor’s Fund to
Advance New York City, in cooperation
with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, New
York City Football Club (NYCFC), and
Adidas America proposed the initiative
to place the pitch at Rosemary’s
Playground during the board’s Park
Services Committee meeting on
June 13.
The pitch, however, would not be
regulation size; it would be the approximate
size of a basketball court
in order to introduce a younger
already, you want to add to a park.
You don’t want to take away and put
something in,” Fiedler said. “You want
to add to a park. There’s really no room
in design to add to this park.”
To bolster their stance against the
soccer pitch coming to Rosemary’s
Playground, Giordano penned a letter
to NYC Parks Department Queens
Borough Commissioner Dorothy
Lewandowski, outlining the board’s
objection, noting the diminishing
number of basketball courts throughout
the community board.
“Currently there are a limited number
of opportunities where basketball
can be played locally outdoors, especially
compared to the popularity of
this activity,” Giordano wrote. “There
are only two full basketball courts and
two half court areas at Rosemary’s
Playground, Evergreen Park hasn’t
any basketball courts and Benninger
Park, in Ridgewood only has one full
court.”
In light of the opposition from CB
5, the Parks Department has put the
project on hold.
“We are aware of the Community
Board’s concerns regarding the proposed
soccer pitch,” a representative from the
Parks Department said. “As such, we have
put the project on hold while we continue
conversations with the community.”
Phone - 718-386-3004 l Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/104thPrecinctcommunityCouncil l Twitter - https://twitter.com/104PCC l Web - http://www.104pcc.org l Email - council@104pcc.org
