Dozens of Malvernites were joined by state, county and local officials to celebrate the grand opening of Whelan Park last week.
The Sept. 4 celebration followed the soft opening of the park on July 23. Village residents and visitors can now enjoy walking and biking along a new scenic pathway, bringing their dogs to the park and tossing a ball around on the renovated fields.
“It was incredible to watch this facility transform from what it was to what it is now,” Deputy Mayor Scott Edwards said. Edwards and many other attendees recalled playing Little League baseball at Whelan Field as a child, when the field was little more than an undeveloped lot.
Attendees said they were impressed by the park’s transformation.
In 2017, five years after the damage of Hurricane Sandy, Malverne was awarded a state grant for a project to mitigate future flooding in the community. In 2019, then Mayor Keith Corbett and then Trustee Tim Sullivan came up with the idea of renovating Whelan Field as part of a storm water-drainage project.
Whelan Field and Pine Stream were previously county property that the village had leased since the 1950s, but in order to fund renovations to the field, the state required Malverne to take ownership of it. Sullivan, the current mayor, contacted County Executive Bruce Blakeman and legislators, who agreed to give the land to the village.
The Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, now the Office of Resilient Homes and Communities, approved the Pine Stream Extension Project in 2020. The village received $6.3 million from New York State to support the project — the largest grant Malverne has ever received, according to Corbett.
Planning for the renovations began in 2022, and the village broke ground on the project in June 2024.
“Investing in community assets like this is very much true to our mission,” Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner Ruth Anne Visnauskas said. “This park is a shining example of what we mean when we talk about community investment.”
“These infrastructure improvements can protect the village from future floods,” Visnauskas added. “The underground water retention will improve the resiliency of this community and help us as we adapt to climate change, and as more storms happen.”
Before it became a baseball field, Whelan Park was once Alley Pond. At last week’s ceremony, former Mayor Joseph Canzoneri shared his memories of visiting Alley Pond as a teenager on hot summer days, and swinging from a rope into the water.
“Over the years we’ve really filled in our ponds, our rivers and streams, and we’ve really abused our environment,” Sullivan said. “The results have been these harsh storms and damage to property, and I believe we really put our best foot forward to try and mitigate that.”
Underneath the baseball fields are water-retention basins that collect water that would normally run off into Pine Stream. Now the water will be filtered before it runs into the stream.
“The ponds that were once here were part of nature’s storm water management, filling with water and preventing it from going downstream,” Matthew Mohlin, vice president of H2M Architect and Engineers, explained. “Once filled in, they lose that aspect of storm water management. By lowering the fields and providing additional storage, when the stream rises, this system will protect downstream areas.”
The project both protects surrounding communities and improves the ecological health of Pine Stream, which runs underneath Malverne High School, through Rockville Centre and into East Rockaway’s Mill River.
“These projects are so amazing because they combine resilience with recreational activities,” said Devon Schumate, a managing director at Homes and Community Renewal who has been involved with this project since its early stages. “It’s a really exciting example of innovative methods for storm water management.”
“This is what happens when New York state government invests in communities,” Assemblywoman Judy Griffin said at the grand opening. “This makes such a big difference, and a positive impact on this and surrounding communities.”
The completion of the park was a community effort. The Malverne Department of Public Works, led by Superintendent Kevin Brady, beautified the park with plants. The village Little League renovated the concession stand, and the Malverne Civic Association donated picnic tables. The Historical Society gathered information for educational signage around the grounds.
Anthony Gulino, owner of Laser Industries, a construction company that worked on the park, donated shade covers for the field dugouts and upgraded the scoreboards, which will be installed in the next few weeks.
“This place means so much to us,” State Sen. Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, a Malverne native, said. “This is a place that we call home.”
The park was dedicated to Bob Whelan, a former village trustee and Fire Department chief. In 1952, Whelan established the Little League — the second one on Long Island, after Rockville Centre.
“Bob Whelan was a big advocate of the baseball program in Malverne,” Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick said. “It’s only fitting the park be renamed in his honor.”
The Rev. James Stachacz, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes church, blessed the park before a ribbon was cut to officially open it.
Robert Whelan, Bob’s son, recalled the original field dedication to his father in 1956. “I have the original dedication booklet with me,” Whelan said. “It’s tremendous to have his name carried on and stay with the field.”
A village barbecue catered by Antonio’s Deli and Catering, followed the ceremony.
