Written by: Andrew Jett
Changing the landscape and serenity of Northport Village’s waterfront Cow Harbor Park can impact local businesses and residents.
Cow Harbor Park located in scenic Northport Village Long Island is a peaceful place where people walk their dogs, parents and grandparents play with their children and families picnic at tables located throughout the park. There are restaurants with sidewalk dining and a bakery where people sit down and have coffee outside. You can walk and enjoy the architecture of old buildings and along the cobblestone street that still has a trolley track that ran down the middle of Main Street.
Main Street Northport ends at the water where beautiful Cow Harbor Park sits on the edge of the waterfront. It is where residents come to enjoy the sunset or concerts in the park. It has two playgrounds where small children can play on the swings, slides and monkey bars. The park also has a beautiful gazebo where high school seniors and just married couples pose for photos with the beautiful backdrop of sail boats tied to moorings in the harbor.
Today the residents of Northport Village are now having a problem with the current project of expanding the park’s basketball court which has been underway for weeks. The original basketball was built sometime in the 1970s. Many Residents of Northport were against this plan because it will disrupt the peace and beauty of the park. To expand the basketball court contractors have replaced grass with concrete, and cut down beautiful ornate trees. These changes will impact the town and diminish the charm and beauty of the park. In addition, it was opposed because of the financial burden on residents. Village taxes increase every year and the increase in taxes can be better spent on repairing sidewalks and roads and replanting trees lost to storm damage. The ramifications of this new project in Northport were said by residents to change the view of the beloved seaside park. Everyone supports the need for recreational spaces such as basketball courts, baseball fields and playgrounds within the community but there are other locations in Northport that already exist and can be better suited for a full size basketball court. More than 1,200 residents who had unsuccessfully signed a petition were urging Huntington's local authority to cancel the project and move it to another more suitable location. However, on 3/5/2024, the Northport Village Board of Trustees approved phase one of the renovations to the basketball court in Cow Harbor Park. This project was first brought to the board during summer 2021. The new proposed basketball court will now have new fencing, a french drain system, and landscape improvements.
Mayor Donna Koch, Deputy Mayor Meghan Dolan, and trustee Dave Weberall voted in favor of this project during the board meeting. Trustee Joseph Sabia voted against it. According to minutes of the board the project has secured donations of $110,724 and a Grant Agreement is in the process for a $75,000 award and will submit for reimbursement the capital cost associated with the project agreement. At the conclusion, The Mayor authorized an agreement with The LandTek Group for $159,986 and further authorizes the mayor or her designee to enforce the provisions of the agreement for the Village. The Phase 1 renovation will include the basketball court, fencing, french drain system and landscape maintenance improvements.
The project has caused an outrage among some residents of Northport Village and some even believe this court will ruin the fabric of Cow Harbor Park. I interviewed three Northport Village residents to hear about their opinions on this big project. Shelby Malvadear who graduated from Northport High School class of 2017, played varsity basketball. Malvadear tells me “I believe a new basketball court can bring the community together, I used to play on the old one with some of my teammates and it now has a lot of cracks and is in need of repair.” Malvadear is in favor of this project but when I asked Paul and Theresa DiBella who were having coffee outside of the Copenhagen Bakery which is directly across from the basketball court, Paul stated “The expansion of the court is unnecessary; it is a nice size for small kids to enjoy with their family.” Theresa said “Cow Harbor Park is beautiful, adding a full size basketball court will take away from the peacefulness and beauty of the park.” Paul and Theresa were not in favor of the project that has been on its way since April. Theresa further stated “Look you can see they took down so many trees and removed grass that the whole area next to the sidewalk was grass and there were picnic tables under the shade of the trees that are no longer there.” Lastly, I asked Annmarie Jacobs, a server at Salted restaurant which is located across the street from the newly expanded basketball court in Cow Harbor Park. Jacobs thinks the expansion of the basketball court was a horrible idea and so far the project is ugly. Jacobs said “The expansion of court has removed some really nice trees that were cut down and now instead of looking at the water through the trees from the sidewalk tables we will probably look at a chain link fence around the court which will be ugly!” Jacobs thinks if this cost the town a lot of money it could have been better spent fixing some of the sidewalks. After talking to Jacob I spoke to her manager David Kennedy about what he thought of the project. David spoke his opinion saying “I think the expansion of the basketball court is very unnecessary but we really don't know what will happen until it is finished. It could be a huge annoyance or a good thing other than that so far I think it's a waste of resources and money.” Kennedy explained to me the village could use money fixing its sidewalk for outdoor dining and that he finds it a little offensive that the board cares more about park renovations than supporting the restaurants in the village which draws in the most visitors . The project of the new basketball court in Northport has caused a divide in the village but the project isn't stopping and will have a strong effect on Cow Harbor park and residents of Northport Village.
Comments