NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
"The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt
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NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt |
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January 2, 2005
Nassau is
giving away our park system for the Holidays
By Bruce Piel
Chairman
of the Park Advocacy & Recreation Council of Nassau
In keeping with its skewered perception of the holidays, Nassau County’s administration has begun wrapping our parks as gifts to private interests and to the three towns. Typically, they are offering many of the same parks to multiple receivers. The bottom line is that the county is admitting they can no longer manage a suburban park system and only wish to divest themselves of these publicly owned facilities.
The Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums is currently preparing Requests For Proposals (RFPs) to privatize all the county golf courses, including the 3 18-hole courses at Eisenhower Park. Last year they tried to offer the 4 9-hole courses at Cantiague, Morley, North Woodmere and Bay Park. As we noted at that time, bringing in private operators concerned with earning profits would only increase the fees for county residents and eliminate discounts for seniors, volunteer fireman, etc. Private Profits on Public Lands are being taken from the pockets of the very people who paid for the acquisition, development and maintenance of the golf courses in the first place.
RFPs have already been issued soliciting bids from private for-profit day camp operators to use county fields and buildings for private day camp sites next summer denying taxpayers the use of the fields, pools, tennis & basketball courts, buildings, etc. when the camps are operating. Paying a relatively small fee and no town or school taxes these profiteers, some reportedly politically connected, will have exclusive or prioritized use of our parklands. The parks and preserves being offered include Eisenhower, Wantagh, Cedar Creek, Cantiague, North Woodmere, Christopher Morley, Nickerson Beach, Cow Meadow, Grant, Bay Park, Tackapausha Museum and Preserve and Old Bethpage Restoration Village.
The latest round of violating the public trust is the trial balloon being floated by the county to give 12 county parks and preserves to the 3 towns. These include Cantiague Park, Carle Place Memorial Park, Hempstead Harbor Beach Park, Herricks Park, Manhasset Valley Park, Massapequa Preserve, Stillwell Woods Preserve and Whitney Pond Park. Along with the land itself, the county will include perks of approximately $2 million each, probably to be taken from the new Environmental Bond Fund just passed by county voters. What will this mean to county residents? Within a year or two only town residents will be able to access and enjoy these parks and preserves. The remainder of us will be excluded despite the fact that our past county taxes purchased, developed and maintained these public lands.
Why is this travesty occurring? In the desire to solve the “financial crisis” of Nassau County, the administration has taken the easiest course. The county workforce was slashed eliminating the very people that make county government work (though political patronage positions remain at an all time high). This has created a crisis in most county departments but none more visible than the park system. As the election year of 2005 looms closer, this self induced embarrassment had to be dealt with. Not with hiring sufficient employees to begin to rebuild the park system, but rather to eliminate as much of that system as possible. Privatize it, give it away, bury it, if possible. Anything to have it disappear as an election issue before next November.
Since Nassau County’s administration will not voluntarily live up to its responsibility to restore and maintain our county park system, it is up to the true owners to insure it does. Each Nassau taxpayer must defend our county park system by contacting the administration, legislature and the media and decry the current plans to destroy our parks. And if necessary, we may have to Remember in November.
Bruce Piel is Chairman of the Park Advocacy & Recreation Council of Nassau (PARCnassau), a coalition of 130 park advocacy or user groups with a combined membership of over 250,000 Nassau residents.
PARCnassau
246
Twin Lane East
Wantagh, NY
11793-1963
(516) 783-8378