Lynbrook village officials approve $1.3M turf field for Greis Park

After discussing their intentions to go forward with the installation of $1.3 million turf fields for Greis Park, the Lynbrook village board of trustees made it official by voting to approve the measure at the March 2 meeting.

Mayor Alan Beach, Deputy Mayor Michael Hawxhurst and Trustees Ann Marie Reardon and Robert Boccio each voted in favor of the project. Trustee Hilary Becker was not in attendance at the meeting, so he did not vote.

Beach has long supported installing turf fields, and told the Herald in February that he thought it would enhance the park. 

“My goal is to improve Greis Park to accommodate the growing need for superb recreation facilities,” he said at the time. “Lynbrook’s population is very attuned to physical fitness, and its good family values encourage our youth to participate in sports.”

The Amityville-based LandTek Group will install the 122,000-square-foot fields, with construction scheduled to begin later this month and finish by the end of the summer. Beach said that Landtek has already taken the backstops down by the baseball and softball diamonds and removed a Fire Department archway in preparation for the work. He added that a 13-year, low-interest bond would cover the installation, at no additional cost to villagers, because the village will soon be retiring old debt. Village officials have talked about installing fields at Greis Park for years.

The facility, on Wilbur Street, has four fields, A through D. The turf will be installed on fields C and D, in the southern part of the park, near the basketball court, the Long Island Rail Road tracks and the Lynbrook Fire Department training center. The infield of the baseball and softball diamond on Field A will also be converted into turf. Fields C and D are multi-use fields that host football, lacrosse, soccer, softball and baseball. Before the turf fields are installed, LandTek will place a drainage system beneath the surface.

The turf fields come as village officials are working toward beautifying and upgrading the park. Colorado-based GreenPlay LLC conducted a nine-month, $60,000 study in which it gathered input from thousands of residents through online and mail-in surveys to find out what they desire there. Village officials are now analyzing plans in order to finalize projects.