On February 17, the Brooklyn Parks Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a virtual meeting to update the community on the progress of the Red Hook ball fields.
The good news that the Parks Department had for the 52 people on the call was that fields 5-8 are officially open for the public to use. These are the four softball fields on Bay Street on the same side of the street as the Recreation Center.
According to Davey Ives, chief of staff for the Parks Department in Brooklyn, the pandemic has delayed things about a year.
Ives thanked elected officials who represent Red Hook for their support so far during the project that began in 2014 and he hoped for their support going forward.
Except for Dan Wiley, who represents Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, no local elected officials, or their representatives, attended the meeting, which was on Zoom.
A spokesperson for Alexa Aviles, Red Hook’s representative in the City Council, told the Star-Revue that they have spoken to the Parks Department in the past. However, questions came up during the meeting that needed to be answered by local elected officials, including a suggestion for lights at the new ballfields, something that would need City funding. The City Council controls the budget for capital improvements.
Daniel Gaughan, who is the on-site coordinator from the EPA, explained the history of what made the area contaminated and why EPA got involved.
“The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) referred the site to the EPA in 2014,” Guaghan said. “That is how long we have been working on this together.”
“We placed a demarcation layer on top of the contaminated soil,” Gaughan said. “We brought in at least 12 inches of clean fill, a drainage layer and synthetic turf. There should be no further contact with contaminated soil by anyone in the neighborhood.”
Phase 2, which includes Field 9 and soccer field 2, is in construction and slated to be finished this summer. Phase three (ball fields 1-4, soccer field 3-5 and the track) is currently in construction as well with an anticipated completion of spring of 2023.
Lines for baseball and soccer have not been put in yet because of the cold weather. They need the temperature to be above a certain threshold in order for the paint to cure properly.
Jose from the permits office has been reaching out to leagues and schools to make sure the league games can take place at the complex.
People that have had permits in the past will continue to have permits honored. They will not change the permitting policy.
“We are anticipating completion of phase two during the summer,” Syrett said. “We have the schematic plan. There will be a new ball field with synthetic turf and a new soccer field with synthetic turf. We have bleachers for each field and an entry plate with lots of seating, paths and planting.”
“We have synthetic turf fields for softball, baseball and soccer,” Syrett said. “We will have full bleachers, we have adult fitness stations in this area and the handball courts are staying. ”
Phase three will have lights around the track and the field inside the track will be a lit field, as in the past.
“As we get new elected officials we would love to advocate for more lighting,” Ives said. “That makes Jose and the permits team’s job easier because it gives them more playability.”
Soccer field 6 will get four smaller fields as well as a picnic area and seating areas. There will be an adult fitness station (can include bars to hold on to for squats or push-ups or an overhead press and elliptical-like machine) in this phase on Court Street.
There will be lots of space for spectators to watch the soccer players on the new synthetic turf fields. The picnic areas will be on Bay Street where the food trucks usually are.
There was a question about what will be done to protect the neighborhood so that the contamination does not get away from the site during construction.
“The way we have designed our parks is to contain contaminants in the soil,” Ives said. “That was what EPA mandated us to address. The soils that we have tested for in the ground will be contained and the public will be protected. The air monitoring that Chris mentioned is in the interest of protecting the public to minimize/eliminate any impact we might have on the Red Hook community.”
The Parks Department is trying to plant as many trees as possible and put in as much green space as possible to help clean the air.
“We took down a lot of trees and there are many more trees that need to be planted as part of the restitution,” Syrett said. “The way the restitution works with Parks is it is based on the size of the tree we cut down. For a 12 inch tree {that came down}, you will plant three trees.”
The trees will be planted within the community board, which means Red Hook will get a lot more trees.
In response to a question about why there are not any grass fields Ives said it is because synthetic turf fields are much easier to maintain, which maximizes playability.
“At the Parks Department, we get a lot more use out of these fields. The turf is much easier to maintain than the soil. You do not have to worry about not playing on rainy days or when the field is vulnerable to reseeding.”
There was a question about the need for port-o-potties in the park complex and a request to have them cleaned more often.
According to Ives, the port-o-potties are a service that the Parks Department pays for. They will attempt to have them somewhere in the Red Hook ball field area during the peak summer season, and they will try to figure out the best location.
Regarding permits, the permits office has worked with groups that have had permits in the past and they will try to ensure that they come back. If there are new groups that want permits it is recommended that they get in contact with the permits office soon (718-965-8912) to get in front of the line for when new times open up.
The permits office is now taking inquiries to apply for permits for softball in the spring. You can also reach out to Jose to get a permit for soccer for later in the year.
There was a question about allowing dogs on the ball fields during off leash hours. The answer is no because the Parks Department doesn’t allow dogs on any playing fields. They have already gotten complaints about people walking their dogs on fields 5-8.
At Bush Clinton Park, which is about a block away from the ball fields, some of the basketball courts were recently resurfaced and new backboards have been funded.
At Harold Ickes Park, on the other side of Red Hook, a construction project is currently in procurement.
