CCA welcomed Park manager, Sean of Sunken Meadow state park at our last meeting. He advised us of the latest plans for the park so its 3.5 million visitors will continue to have a beautiful space for recreation. This park was created, in the 1930s,by Robert Moses out of state land and an abandoned summer estate . Due to his foresight our beaches are pristine and not loaded with tourist hotels as in other states. The land owned by Sunken Meadow Park
extends to Pulaski road on the parkway. Park staff keep this area clean but it is only open land.
There are 76,000 rounds of golf played on the golf course, which is the second busiest golf course in NY parks . Bethpage state park is the busiest, because they hosted the PGA championship on their black course. However the Sunken Meadow course is equivalent to Bethpage park's red course . The privately run Pro shop will be adding a driving range for the golfers, so they will have more reasons to visit the park. Upgraded irrigation with sensors is a new maintenance feature.
Lessings caterers have a 10 year contract to run the concessions in the park. NY receives a percentage of the sales receipts. Lessings offers wedding parties in a pavilion, on the west end of the boardwalk. At their expense they are planning to add a bridal suite, as well as adding bathrooms in the building , so wedding guests can stay in house. Lessings plans to add an ice cream parlor to another concession building as well as upgrade the kitchens. The bathrooms were all redone, paid by your tax dollars, and a special enclosed septic system is in place that is pumped out regularly, so there is no groundwater contamination from a cesspool. The main office was renovated, but the lines are still out the door, when people buy their NY park permits. The toll fees are given to the general fund in NY and not dedicated to the local beaches .The Park management of the beach is looking forward to installing solar panels on the roof of the Field 4 building .New parking areas will be added.. It is hoped that the old umbrella concession at the beach entrance can be converted to a NY products and permits concession in the future.
On the boardwalk, you may notice that there are new memorial benches. These cost $3000 and families have been purchasing them to remember their loved ones. You can enjoy boardwalk DJ music on Sundays and line dancing on Thursdays this summer.
The park hosts two running races. The January winter event attracted 1000 runners ,down the parkway. On June 19, the spring event usually attracts 4000 runners. The park is a favored destination for cross country training by high school and now college teams that like to run up cardiac hill! These paths were leveled with crushed concrete. The beach has 7 Emergency Medical Technicians. Seven AED defibrillators are available for medical emergencies.
Sunken Meadow Park benefitted from Suffolk County's dredging of the adjacent Nissenquoge River, because 90,000 cubic yards of that sand was deposited on the beachfront, at no cost to the state budget. This helped save the beachfront which lost a 4 foot dune on the east side during the March storms.
The tunnel to Connecticut from Kings park! The governor is not pursuing the project.
According to Michael Fitzpatrick , our legislator, the Kings Park Tunnel to Connecticut would not be a favored choice for a sound crossing because Connecticut does not approve of this project.
IT is preferred to keep such a project intra state e.g. Seaford Oyste.r bay Expressway to Westchester.Newsday recently reported the Westchester destination would be Rye NY. The tunnel would take 20 years to complete.